New land for corn

There is a great debate in the halls of Congress, among environmentalists, and within the executive suites of big oil companies. Why not allow protected U.S. lands and offshore areas to be open for drilling of crude? Oil supply is tight. There are huge fields in some of the areas where companies are not allowed to explore.

A similar push and pull has begun over U.S. farmland. With critical crops destroyed by rain, the price of corn is at record levels and rising. The government has a policy to get farmers to set aside land for conservation. Perhaps at this point that is a bad idea.

According to The New York Times, one of the senators from Iowa "urged the Agriculture Department to release tens of thousands of farmers from contracts under which they had promised to set aside huge tracts as natural habitat."

Corn prices are being driven by high demand for ethanol and food poorly balanced against inadequate production. The flooding in the Midwest only makes that worse.

If the U.S. government wants to do everything it can to bring down food and oil inflation, it can set up a "drill anywhere" and "plant anywhere" policy. The streets of New York can be covered with the next wheat harvest. San Francisco Bay can be riddled with oil derricks.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.