02/22/07 Idaho Ag Summit

For the 12th year in a row the Larry Branen Idaho Ag Summit drew another large crowd for two days of activities in Boise, capped off with the Governor's Awards Luncheon. As he did twelve years ago at the first Ag Summit Larry Branen talked about renewable fuels and the role that Idaho farmers and ranchers can play in that arena. Branen says the technology improvements between then and now can open new doors for rural Idaho. BRANEN "We've got to find a way to make it work for all of what we're doing and perhaps some of the advances we've seen on converting those byproducts that come out of biofuels or methane production into byproducts that have value will be what changes what we are in the future." The former dean of the University of Idaho College of Agriculture says for renewable fuels like ethanol, wind, biodiesel and others to become a larger part of the American fuel equation there has to be cooperation, the right policies and government leadership. BRANEN "Whether it's with applying new technology, applying new industry to bring in the energy that we're trying to develop or simply developing the policy that we're after overall." Next week we'll be profiling the Governor's award winners who were honored yesterday for their contributions to Idaho Agriculture. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott