Two new, independent studies on ethanol land use impact both conclude that modern ethanol production doesn't impact land use patterns significantly.

A study commissioned by the Illinois Corn Growers (ICGA) finds that modern ethanol plants do not meaningfully change farmland use, doesn't impact the amount of land farmed or change the mix of crops planted (e.g., corn, soybeans). Another done by Air Improvement Resources, Inc., concluded that expansion of corn ethanol production to 15 billion gallons per year by 2015 is unlikely to result in increase conversion of non-agricultural lands in the U.S. or abroad. 

This Illinois study is the most thorough and far-reaching study on land use impact done to date according to Rod Weinzierl, executive director of the ICGA. He said, "It demonstrates that the often cited link between new ethanol plants and the conversion of non agricultural land to corn is highly questionable. Corn ethanol is not a central driver in the conversion of non-corn farmland to corn production.”

The Illinois study was conducted by Dr. Steffen Mueller from the Energy Resources Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago, utilizing a modern ethanol plant in Rochelle, Illinois (approximately 75 miles northwest of Chicago) as its test subject. The study looked at relevant farming data – including satellite imagery and farmer surveys --  one year prior to the plant opening through to two years after.  The study found that while available land such as grass and pasture was available for farmers within the ethanol plant draw area to convert to and increase planted corn acres by as much as 21%, less than three tenths of a percent increase actually took place, which is not a meaningful amount.  

The Illinois study – The Land Use Impact Of  A New Ethanol Plant, February 2009 -- was prepared for the Illinois Corn Marketing Board and can be accessed in full at: ( http://www.ilcorn.org ) The Energy Resources Center ( http://www.erc.uic.edu )is located in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  The Center was established in 1973 by the Board of Trustees as an approved Illinois Board of Higher Education center with the mandate to conduct studies in the fields of energy and environment and to provide industry, utilities, government agencies and the public with assistance, information, and advice on new technologies, public policy, and professional development training.

The AIR study can be found at online at ethanolrfa.org or at  http://pacificethanolinc.createsend5.com/t/r/l/jdfki/yhitlln/j .