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Vilsack says research supports ethanol’s efficiency

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says two new research reports show how ethanol production efficiency has improved.

“One of the biggest concerns I’ve had about the debate over ethanol is for the fact that some of those folks who oppose ethanol are using outdated information suggesting that it takes more energy to produce ethanol than the energy that ethanol provides and that’s just not accurate.”

One study was by the USDA on the energy balance of corn ethanol. The other was by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, or FAPRI, at the University of Missouri, “What we found is our corn growers are basically more efficient that they’ve ever been in terms of what they use in terms of inputs. Our ethanol producers are more efficient than they’ve ever been. So, every unit of energy that’s used to produce ethanol and the coproducts and byproducts basically produces about 2.3 units of energy.”

Vilsack says the point is that ethanol that is an industry that’s expanding. He says they’re finding creative ways to produce biofuels and ethanol.

AUDIO: Interview with Secretary Tom Vilsack

USDA

FAPRI-MU

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