SALT LAKE CITY – Enthusiasm for ethanol is rising, along with the demand for the corn-based fuel, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. But this enthusiasm has pitted farmer against rancher as the price of feed corn has risen, making it more costly to feed chickens, cows and pigs.

At the annual meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation this week in Salt Lake City, a potential split between farmers and ranchers is in the air as its members grapple with the consequences of the rapid U.S. expansion of ethanol.

“We have a bull on the loose here, and it’s going to have a lot of implications for American agriculture and our population,” USDA chief economist Keith Collins told Farm Bureau members Sunday morning.

With new ethanol plants opening rapidly in rural communities, what’s been good news for grain farmers has been bad news for those who produce chicken, beef and pork, the newspaper reports.

Sustained high corn prices could lead to higher grocery bills; food companies point out that the impact will go beyond milk and meat. Farmers could opt to plant the higher-priced corn instead of other crops, such as wheat, which would increase the price of wheat flour, etc., Cal Dooley, head of the Food Products Association, told the newspaper.