Huh? I’d say the backbone of Iowa’s economy is corn, the feedstock from which those 39 stills make ethanol. That corn is the foundation and backbone of the economy, not what they make from it, whether it’s hogs, HFCS, or ethanol.

Ethanol may add value and is a valuable adjunct, but it’s not the backbone. The framework on which Iowa’s economy is built is the vast fields of corn you see as you drive I-80.