VILSACK STEPS UP TO CHAMPION ETHANOL

Apr 13, 2011  |  Today's News

VilsackSome have called into question the Obama Administration’s commitment to corn ethanol. As a further extension, US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has been criticized for not addressing ethanol criticisms or the food versus fuel issue. That is no longer the case.

National Corn Growers Association Vice President of Public Policy, Jon Doggett, recently shared with leadership that Secretary Vilsack has been one of ethanol’s greatest supporters in Washington, DC, of late.

Secretary Vilsack recently addressed the Governor’s Biofuels Coalition at a DC meeting. Vilsack said ethanol critics are engaged in a “false debate” over biofuels and should be asking how U.S. farmers can meet energy needs, rather than whether they should.

“We’re trapped in a debate that leads us down the road of shortchanging American agriculture, rather than recognizing its enormous capabilities,” Vilsack said today at the annual meeting of the North American Agricultural Journalists in Washington. Proper investment can help farmers meet export, food, fuel, feed and fiber needs, he said.

The secretary also recently rolled out a USDA plan to provide loans so that more blender pumps could be installed nationwide. The goal, Vilsack said, is to increase the number of flexible-fuel pumps across the nation by 10,000 over the next five years.

And if you need more proof, how about this funny take?  Friends of the Earth has named Vilsack the 2011 Biofool of the Year, the organization’s award that recognizes “leaders that promote dirty biofuels.” Well that one takes the cake. If he’s torqued-off the environmental groups, he must be doing something right.