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Minnesota Corn pledges boost to Biofuels Infrastructure Investment Grant Program

The Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion Council and Growers Association are committing $1 million to help spark investments in biofuels infrastructure.

Council chair Jim O’Connor, who farms near Blooming Prairie, tells Brownfield members are putting their best foot forward as the legislature considers Governor Walz’s proposal of $2 million per-year for a state biofuel infrastructure grant program.

“The $2 million is a recommendation from Governor Walz. The Senate Ag Committee has a proposal of $3.5 million, and the House Ag Committee has got the $2 million. So where it comes out in the end, we’re hopeful that it’s higher.”

He says the public-private infrastructure partnership would benefit all Minnesotans.

“The tanks, the pumps, the signage, the hoses and nozzles, some of them are 30-plus years old and need to be upgraded anyways.”

O’Connor says only about 10 percent of Minnesota fuel retailers currently offer E15 or higher ethanol blends.