House Ag Chair Challenges USDA Official Comments
Posted: October 29, 2009
During a House Agriculture Subcommittee hearing today on the future of next generation biofuels, full committee chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) challenged a comment made in the opening statement of USDA Under Secretary Dr. Rajiv Shah.
While praising the agriculture industry for meeting the demand for corn-based ethanol, Dr. Shah stated that “very importantly — increased corn acreage supported greater ethanol output.”
Not so, said Chairman Peterson. “We’re virtually using the same corn acreage that we did way back in 1977,” said Peterson. “The big difference is we had a 90.8 bushel average in 1977 and today we’re up to 164 bushels.”
He said that the mistaken belief that we are increasing acreage is perpetuating criticism of ethanol and stifling investment in next generation biofuels. “All of this foolishness about international land use and what’s going on in Brazil and all this other negative stuff that’s being put out by different interest groups with different agendas … it’s no damn wonder that nobody’s investing,” the chairman said bluntly. “People who want cellulosic ethanol have got to realize that corn ethanol has created the opportunity for us to even do this.”
“That word is not getting out to the public,” he continued. “All they here about is how terrible it is and how we’re going to starve everybody and all this other baloney that’s out there.” Making statements that farmers are increasing acreage to meet ethanol demand, Peterson says, “does a disservice by ginning up all these bogus arguments that we’ve been hearing.”
Listen to Peterson’s comments here.
Jim Burg Said,
October 29, 2009 @ 6:07 pm
Thank God for a Congressional Leader with the knowledge of agriculture to challenge mistaken information and the backbone to stand up and be heard. Thanks to NCGA for publicizing this. I feel we need to put much more effort in this kind of advocacy. It will advance our cause than spending much of our time in the promaotion of yields and chemicals etc.
DeVonna Zeug Said,
October 29, 2009 @ 8:07 pm
Couldn’t have said it better myself Chairman!
Tom Tibbits Said,
October 29, 2009 @ 9:51 pm
It is refreshing to know that there are some people in Washington DC that understand what is going on out here. Even better that it’s the house ag committee leadership, a position that will get noticed by mainstream media. We need more people that will listen to us with an open mind and let science help make up their minds.
Rick Tolman Said,
October 30, 2009 @ 8:34 am
Kudos to Chairman Peterson. He is right on and it is very discouraging for so many people who should know better to talk about more corn acres from ethanol. We all need to requote Chairman Peterson to everyone we know and even those that we don’t. “We’re virtually using the same corn acreage that we did way back in 1977,” said Peterson. “The big difference is we had a 90.8 bushel average in 1977 and today we’re up to 164 bushels.”