THE TRUTH ABOUT ETHANOL

Corn based ethanol is not perfect but it has been blamed for high food prices and practically every problem under the sun. The truth is that ethanol has been unfairly targeted by critics and is, in fact, doing a great deal to help America during the energy crisis; it is the only domestically-produced, renewable alternative we have at this time to oil based transportation.

The facts were driven home this month as the Senate Agriculture Committee held a special field hearing on food, feed and fuel production at the University of Nebraska - Omaha.

Ethanol Helps America
At the hearing we heard testimony that put the focus on the big picture. Ethanol is helping us to stretch the gasoline supply, save American consumers money at the pump, create jobs in rural communities, improve our rural and national economy—and to top it off—help wean us off imported oil.

To a handful of critics who said corn based ethanol had contributed to a rise in the cost of food and feed for animals, Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Ag Committee, pointed to the effects of increased corn production. He said that a few years ago the idea of producing 150 bushels of corn per acre would have been farfetched. Now, we’re doing it and there are predictions that corn production will continue to increase in the future.

Chairman Harkin is Correct
More productivity by our farmers means greater supplies of corn for both food and fuel. In other words, American farmers have once again risen to the occasion and are meeting all our needs.

One witness testified that high corn prices, which have fallen from record highs earlier this year, will lead to even greater corn production. His concern was that corn growers could overproduce their way back to unprofitability.

The Chairman of the Nebraska Ethanol Board said cheap corn is not the solution to problems facing cattle feeders. He praised cattlemen who have found substitutes for corn feed such as distillers' grains that produce leaner beef.

Midwest Versus Mideast
Ethanol is a major contributor to the U.S. gasoline supply. One study says it's the third largest, behind only Canada and Saudi Arabia, and ahead of Iraq and other OPEC countries. Today’s corn-based ethanol is paving the way for the next generation of biofuels produced from such materials as switchgrass and stover.

To ethanol's critics I ask, 'Why farm out our energy needs to foreign suppliers when we're producing so much clean-burning renewable fuel on our own farms?'

We want to see all of agriculture survive and prosper, including grain farmers, livestock producers, ethanol producers and food processors. At the same time they are benefiting so is the average American family, our local communities, our national energy security and the national economy. This is money wisely invested in the American Midwest and not in the Middle East.

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	Column	August 25, 2008
THE TRUTH ABOUT ETHANOL Corn based ethanol is not perfect but it has been blamed for high food prices and practically every problem under the sun. The truth is that ethanol has been unfairly targeted by critics and is, in fact, doing a great deal to help America during the energy crisis; it is the only domestically-produced, renewable alternative we have at this time to oil based transportation. The facts were driven home this month as the Senate Agriculture Committee held a special field hearing on food, feed and fuel production at the University of Nebraska - Omaha. Ethanol Helps America At the hearing we heard testimony that put the focus on the big picture. Ethanol is helping us to stretch the gasoline supply, save American consumers money at the pump, create jobs in rural communities, improve our rural and national economy—and to top it off—help wean us off imported oil. To a handful of critics who said corn based ethanol had contributed to a rise in the cost of food and feed for animals, Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Ag Committee, pointed to the effects of increased corn production. He said that a few years ago the idea of producing 150 bushels of corn per acre would have been farfetched. Now, we’re doing it and there are predictions that corn production will continue to increase in the future. Chairman Harkin is Correct More productivity by our farmers means greater supplies of corn for both food and fuel. In other words, American farmers have once again risen to the occasion and are meeting all our needs. One witness testified that high corn prices, which have fallen from record highs earlier this year, will lead to even greater corn production. His concern was that corn growers could overproduce their way back to unprofitability. The Chairman of the Nebraska Ethanol Board said cheap corn is not the solution to problems facing cattle feeders. He praised cattlemen who have found substitutes for corn feed such as distillers' grains that produce leaner beef. Midwest Versus Mideast Ethanol is a major contributor to the U.S. gasoline supply. One study says it's the third largest, behind only Canada and Saudi Arabia, and ahead of Iraq and other OPEC countries. Today’s corn-based ethanol is paving the way for the next generation of biofuels produced from such materials as switchgrass and stover. To ethanol's critics I ask, 'Why farm out our energy needs to foreign suppliers when we're producing so much clean-burning renewable fuel on our own farms?' We want to see all of agriculture survive and prosper, including grain farmers, livestock producers, ethanol producers and food processors. At the same time they are benefiting so is the average American family, our local communities, our national energy security and the national economy. This is money wisely invested in the American Midwest and not in the Middle East. ###