"Is U.S. Farm Boom Sitting on An Ethanol Bubble?"

"Grain farmers in the Midwest may want to pinch themselves."

"In recent years they have been buoyed by a dream scenario. Record high prices. Record high profits. Record high farmland values. Near record production. Farm debts paid off.

"Historically agriculture has been asset rich, cash flow poor, profit poor. This time we are asset rich and profit rich. That makes for a very combustible brew," said David Kohl, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at Virginia Tech.

"It's a super cycle. It's only happened four times in the past 100 years," Kohl told U.S. agricultural bankers at their annual meeting this month.

But can it last?"

Christine Stebbins Reports for Reuters November 21, 2011.