April 28, 2005

Dear Fellow Nebraskans:

I recently had the opportunity to travel to central and southwest Nebraska to meet with the producers who earn their living, at least in part, from an energy alternative grown and processed right here in Nebraska. An estimated one in every four bushels of corn produced by Nebraska farmers is used to help produce ethanol, which is one of our state’s most successful value-added agricultural products.

I began my visit by touring the corn fields of a farmer near Minden who knows first-hand the impact this fuel blend has had on our state’s economy, and ended it by pumping gas for customers at a service station in Trenton offering E-10, the ethanol blend widely available in communities across the state. Every gallon of E-10 gasoline contains 10 percent ethanol, which is a cleaner-burning alternative to the unleaded fuel used by many motorists today.

Drivers in our state use on average more than 16 million gallons of unleaded gasoline each week. Given the recent increase in gas prices, this totals an estimated $33 million spent in just one week. If every Nebraska motorist purchased an ethanol blended fuel for cars and trucks, not only would we be investing in a Nebraska product, but the savings for that week alone would total more than $1.1 million.

The potential savings not only represent real dollars for individuals and families, but our state economy and agricultural producers would also benefit from more wide-spread use of ethanol-blended fuels. Nebraska is a leading producer of alternative fuels, and while ethanol has proven to be good for the environment, it is also important for our economy.

Communities of all sizes benefit from the $37 million in annual pay and more than $1 billion in sales activity linked to the operation of Nebraska’s ethanol plants. State and local economies benefit whenever a new plant is built, and you don’t have to travel far to see the tremendous economic impact an ethanol plant can have on other businesses in a community. Engineering and construction companies, as well as marketing, finance, agriculture, and transportation-related businesses are all positively impacted by the success of Nebraska’s ethanol industry.

As Nebraska’s ethanol plants expand to meet growing demand, we must continue to develop new markets for the millions of gallons produced each year. One such market is E-85, a fuel blend that jumps from 10 percent ethanol per gallon to 85 percent ethanol.

While there are currently a handful of E-85 pumps in Nebraska, there are at least three million cars, trucks and vans now on the nation’s highways that are flexible-fuel vehicles able to be run on E-85. Each year, more vehicles are manufactured to run on E-85 and E-10 – and more are on the way. This represents a largely untapped market for an industry whose potential we are only beginning to realize.

The hard work of our farmers and the more than 2,100 people working in our state’s ethanol plants helps ensure that more and more Nebraskans are able to purchase the renewable fuels consumers can feel good about using.

The next time you pull into a filling station, consider the potential impact you could have by simply choosing an ethanol blend. It will not only save money, but choosing ethanol represents an investment in our producers, our environment and the continued economic strength of our state.