This is a genuine question as I do not know the answer, so please don't shoot.
So far I heard a lot of negative things about corn using a lot of nitrogen fertilizer, wasteful as ethanol source, feeding cows are not really energy efficient compare to other sources, and growing it is harmful to the soil condition and all.
Yet I'm sure there's a reason why we still grow so much of it to feed cows and pigs and we don't have a better alternative for much of the farmlands in the US. What is the reason? How is the economics of corn compare to say, soy beans, hay, other grains, etc?
So far I heard a lot of negative things about corn using a lot of nitrogen fertilizer, wasteful as ethanol source, feeding cows are not really energy efficient compare to other sources, and growing it is harmful to the soil condition and all.
Yet I'm sure there's a reason why we still grow so much of it to feed cows and pigs and we don't have a better alternative for much of the farmlands in the US. What is the reason? How is the economics of corn compare to say, soy beans, hay, other grains, etc?