GogglesnTeeth 6 #1 May 31, 2007 Yes, the message warrants all caps!!! The price of Tequilla could go up as Mexican farmers plant more corn instead of agava! Quick, someone call Vinny! http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN2924142520070530 MEXICO CITY, May 29 (Reuters) - Mexican farmers are setting ablaze fields of blue agave, the cactus-like plant used to make the fiery spirit tequila, and resowing the land with corn as soaring U.S. ethanol demand pushes up prices. The switch to corn will contribute to an expected scarcity of agave in coming years, with officials predicting that farmers will plant between 25 percent and 35 percent less agave this year to turn the land over to corn. "Those growers are going after what pays best now," said Ismael Vicente Ramirez, head of agriculture at Mexico's Tequila Regulatory Council. The large, spiky-leaved agave thrives on high, arid land and can take eight years to reach maturity. To remove the plants, growers cut them at their stems and often burn the fields to remove the roots. Tequila, drunk in shots and cocktails around the world, is named after a town in the western Mexican state of Jalisco. Production of agave, from the lily family, soared in recent years as farmers cashed in on record prices brought about by a shortage of the plant at the start of the decade. Despite rapid growth in tequila drinking, especially overseas, the over-supply of agave has driven prices for the plant to rock-bottom levels.Goggles and Teeth "You fall like a greased safe!!!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #2 May 31, 2007 And here I thought you were going to tell us Vinny was back in the U.S."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
