Ethanol impact
A month or so ago I read an article in the Post citing that tortilla prices are going through the roof in Latin America thanks to an international demand for ethanol. Columnist Marcela Sanchez called the region "the 'Persian Gulf' of Biofuels"
My basic understanding of economics based on a freshman class is AU tells me that corn production will rise and Latin American culture will be restored, so I took the indicator as a positive one.
A more complex analysis is available at Marginal Revolution.
Closer to home, Maryland is discovering corn to be a major cash crop.
The Baltimore Sun recently reported that rising corn prices will be good for MD grain farmers but hard for farmers growing livestock and raising poultry- since corn is a major feed supply.
Maybe we'll see an agricultural shift, since the outlook for the next decade keeps corn prices high.