WASHINGTON, DC — Yesterday, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a statement on two research reports, one published by the USDA’s Office of the Chief Economist and another published by the University of Missouri, Food and Agricultural Policy Institute (FAPRI), affirming that ethanol production continues to be increasingly energy efficient, and that increased production would continue to benefit the farm economy by increasing corn prices, while still providing ample feed to livestock producers.
“The USDA report confirms several things the ethanol industry has been saying for years – efficiency in ethanol production is on the rise. It is clear that corn ethanol has a net positive energy return by factors more than 2 to 1 nationally, and an even greater energy return of 4 to 1 in parts of the Midwest,” said Tom Buis, co-chair of Growth Energy.
“This is welcome news,” explained Buis, “as for years Big Oil and special interests have been attempting to drive a narrative that is simply false in a blatant attempt to maintain their near monopoly on the liquid fuels transportation marketplace.”
The FAPRI study noted that there was no certain impact on global land use, indicating again how unreliable Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) calculations may be as a determinant of ethanol greenhouse gas reductions.
“These reports definitively prove that the misinformation and lies being spread by Big Oil and special interests hold absolutely no merit. Ethanol production has become, and continues to be more efficient,” noted Buis. Furthermore, Buis concluded saying that, “Secretary Vilsack was spot on when he noted that, ‘there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future of the bio-economy and the role biofuels and advanced biofuels will play in the future.’”
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