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Perdue says USDA has and will defend ethanol

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue tells Brownfield USDA has fought back against inaccurate studies claiming ethanol is bad for the environment.

“We’ve known all along (and) the reason we began was for a cleaner environment early on. Many people have forgotten now (that) we were energy dependent on foreign sources at one time. Now the corn growers and ethanol industry grew up to make us have a domestic source.”

Perdue spoke to Brownfield while visiting an Iowa ethanol plant last week where he announced the Trump Administration’s plan to invest up to $100 million in biofuels infrastructure.

“It’s a cleaner burning fuel, that’s known. We’ve given the facts to EPA and others about that, from the science. You’ve got to follow the science. It’s a better fuel, higher octane. We think it will be a lower price, and better certainly for Iowans and people who grow corn.”

The long-term viability of ethanol has come into question following California Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order last month to ban gasoline-powered vehicles in his state by 2035.