Colorado Corn Cultivating Opportunities

In the wake of the Senate’s announcement Tuesday afternoon that it would not move forward on energy legislation until September, the National Corn Growers Association has reiterated its stance on the importance of extending ethanol incentives.

“NCGA is disappointed that the Senate will not consider an energy package until at least September,” said NCGA First Vice President Bart Schott. “However, we are hopeful this will allow for future discussions on how ethanol can contribute to our nation’s energy policy and our energy security in a broader energy package.”

Schott pointed out that the U.S. ethanol industry supports nearly 400,000 American jobs across the nation. In the past year alone, ethanol added more than $50 billion to the national Gross Domestic Product and displaced the need for more than 360 million barrels of imported oil, valued at $16 billion. This is one of many reasons Congress should extend VEETC which is set to expire at the end of 2010. If VEETC is allowed to expire, it will result in a 38 percent reduction in ethanol production volume.

“Our nation’s corn farmers support ethanol not simply because it is an expanding market for an increasingly abundant crop,” NCGA President Darrin ihnen said. “We support ethanol because we believe it is good for America’s energy security and reduces dependence on foreign oil. We support ethanol because, gallon for gallon, it is better than gasoline when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental factors. And we support ethanol because it is an important industry for rural America and building our national economy when we can use all the help we can get.”