Ethanol doesn’t help the farmer

My father-in-law is an medium sized corn farmer (about 1400 acres) and the ethanol boom hasn't put a Cadillac in his garage. On the contrary, he dislikes the ethanol mandates.  Although there has been a substantial increase in the price of corn, expense of growing corn have followed a similar pattern. The price of corn seed, fertilizer, herbicide have all risen dramatically. Additionally, the cost of water for irrigation has skyrocketed, since, as you noted, ethanol plants use copious amounts of water.

Many average-sized farmers also have some livestock since it has historically acted as a natural hedge against potentially weak crop prices. Any gain in the margin on corn is eliminated by the loss on livestock. While some of the very large corn farmers may see benefit, the average farmer doesn't find himself living on Easy Street.