“Amid the media frenzy over new products and ideas for 2007, some good news for Missouri farmers is getting lost.  This year, automobile manufacturers will roll out 60 models of alternative-fuel vehicles.  Already, more than nine million such vehicles are on American roads. 

 

The benefits of an alternative fuel vehicle can be significant, from lower gasoline consumption for the family budget to lower emissions for the environment.  But the opportunity to use fuels from our fields to produce ethanol and biodiesel are a true boon to Missourians. 

 

As planting season approaches, farmers can literally plan to use fuels derived from soybeans to run the tractors that put their crops in the ground.  A natural cycle between the corn in our fields and the corn in the gas tanks of farm trucks is emerging, and Missouri must be poised to take advantage.  As ethanol gains notoriety for its low-emissions qualities in states such as California, use of ethanol as a fuel additive is bound to grow.  We can expect to see more states follow our lead in enacting mandates for ethanol use, and the federal government has already imposed similar goals. 

 

The new plan advanced by California’s governor earlier this month would seek to cut carbon emissions ten percent by 2020.  The standard, if enacted, could reduce petroleum use by 20 percent in our nation’s most populous state and increase the size of the alternative and renewable fuels market by three to five times.

 

Largely because of the efforts of former Senator Jim Talent, Americans will meet or exceed a target of using 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels to American supplies by 2012.  The foresight of the Congress is fundamental to meeting this goal, so supportive policies are vital. Tax credits for the production of soy diesel, grant programs to help rural communities build infrastructure and compete in the alternative fuels markets, and support for research on new fuel technologies are all core principles of our national alternative energy strategy. 

 

Southern Missouri is a logical place to serve as home to the production of alternative fuels, and ethanol and soy diesel plants are quickly going in to operation here to meet the new need for E10, E85 and biodiesel.  Groundbreaking fuels research is taking place in our university research labs.  New sources of feedstock for cellulosic ethanol are being cultivated and perfected, and each year, we are subtracting from the amount of foreign oil America would import if not for alternative fuels.  We are also improving the cost efficiency of alternative fuel technologies, making it cheaper and cheaper to replace oil products with fuels derived from corn, soybeans and other materials.

 

The upcoming Farm Bill negotiations will reflect the new role of agriculture in determining our nation’s energy policies.  In the past, the Farm Bill has been about food and fiber, but this bill will add a third component and concern itself with food, fiber and fuel. 

 

In the meantime, the cooperation of automakers and petroleum companies is key to the
integration of biofuels into our energy markets.  The introduction of cars and trucks that run on a steady diet of E85 and other renewable fuels is good news for our farmers, for the environment, and for all of us.”