Beer Prices Rising

First it was the hops going up. Now it is barley. Corn subsidies are making farmers plant more corn and less hops and barley.

Hops and barley production have been hit by poor growing conditions and a loss of acreage dedicated to the crops, according to the Brewers Association in Boulder, Colo.

Adding to the problem is the growing demand for biofuels, which takes corn away from livestock feed. That spurs farmers to tap barley for feed, reducing the amount available for breweries.

It seems biofuels are not only going to have a negative impact on developing nations but also beer drinkers at home.

Corn based biofuels are also very inefficient in terms of reducing green house gases.

ar from having a substantial impact on reducing net emissions of GHG, Wolf says, European rapeseed oil-based diesel and U.S. corn-based ethanol have in fact only made small contributions - 13% less than conventional diesel and 18% less than petrol, respectively. As we've argued at length in several past posts, most biofuel schemes would have a devastating impact on developing, food-importing countries: