05/11/06 Revving up with ethanol

Revving up with ethanol. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. With all the talk about alternate fuels it appears ethanol will be the victor. More and more we are seeing ethanol in the news and this weekend is no exception. Pole position for the 90th Indy 500 will be determined this Saturday in Indianapolis, and ethanol-blended fuel will be powering some of the cars. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman will be at the Brickyard racetrack for practice on Thursday, which has been designated "Ethanol Day." Earlier this month Bodman said at least at this point there isn't enough ethanol production to make a serious dent in fuel prices at the pump. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns told reporters in Chicago that Ethanol will soon be the fuel of choice. JOHANNS: As MTBE is being phased out by states, ethanol is the product of choice today to replace MTBE and continue to comply with clean air standards. So I think the future is bright. We are also looking for ways to lessen our dependence on foreign oil so there's just so many positive things here and I would think that this state would be uniquely situated because you grow the product. Last month, the President praised the environmental and economic benefits of ethanol - saying the use of ethanol will strengthen the Ag economy - which in turn strengthens the nation`s economy. But the President also noted corn-based ethanol can`t do it all. That`s why President Bush said he`s committed to finding other sources for ethanol - like sugar and biomass. President Bush did say corn-based ethanol probably wouldn`t be able to meet the nation`s unquenchable demand for gasoline. National Corn Growers Association First Vice President Ken McCauley But McCauley says the President may be surprised by just how much ethanol corn farmers will be able to produce. McCauley: Well I think when you look at the big picture you've always got to talk about that but anyone that knows farmers knows that we love a challenge and I think the corn producers and the farmers out in the country, when they see demand, they're going to produce for it. So we'd rather concentrate on the big picture and think when it happens we're going to be there and we're going to get the ethanol industry to the next level and we'll be active at that next level. So I don't really want to put a number on it but 15 billion gallon is not out of reach. We're set for that. Officials say by next year`s race, all of the cars racing in the Indy 500 will run 100% fuel-grade ethanol. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.