Clearly, too many acres are being devoted to crop production to generate acceptable market-based net returns. In the past, commodity programs would kick in with an acreage set aside program but there is no authority for that under current legislation. And besides that, farmers do not like the idea of idling land even if they are paid do so.
Farmers like to farm.
So let us suppose that a nonfood crop could be grown on grain, oilseed, and cotton acreage that is currently in excess. Further suppose that by transferring land to this crop a renewable source of energy becomes available, prices of traditional crops increase and government expenditures for farm programs are drastically reduced. Of course, production and utilization of a new crop does not occur without appropriate technologies and infrastructure in place. The potential emissions problems of burning bioenergy crops have been solved. The logistics problems of transporting bioenergy crops to conversion sites have been solved.