Soybeans Down Big As EPA Proposes Reducing Biofuel Mandate

$12.8025 down 33 cents.
From the AP via ABC News:

The Obama administration on Friday proposed to reduce the amount of ethanol in the nation's fuel supply for the first time, acknowledging that the biofuel law championed by both parties in 2007 is not working as well as expected.

While the proposal highlights the government's struggle to ramp up production of homegrown biofuels that are cleaner-burning than gasoline, but is unlikely to mean much for consumers at the pump.

The change would require almost 3 billion gallons less ethanol and other biofuels to be blended into gasoline in 2014 than the law requires.

The 2007 law tried to address global warming by requiring oil companies to blend billions of gallons of biofuels into their gasoline each year. But politicians who wrote the law didn't anticipate fuel economy to improve as much as it has in recent years, which reduced demand for gasoline....MORE

And from Agrimoney:

Evening markets: biofuels reforms hammer final nail into soy

...Downer on biofuels

And all this was before the release by the Environmental Protection Agency, with just 15 minutes of trading left, of long-awaited proposals to change its biofuels use, which were seen as the last nail in bulls' coffin.

The proposals included a cut of 16% to the target for overall US biofuel use in 2014, from the 18.15bn gallons proposed in 2007 legislation to 15.21bn gallons.

Soybeans for January tumbled 2.5% to $12.80 ½ a bushel in Chicago, surrendering in one session the contract's 10-day, 50-day, 75-day and 100-day moving averages....MORE

Lobbyists, there was a reason for the choice of the first winner of the Climateer "Our Hero" award back in April 2007:

The 26th Secretary of War, the Democrat and Republican (!) Senator from Pennsylvania, Simon Cameron:

Our Hero

"The honest politician is one who 
when he is bought, will stay bought."