Biofuel costs, benefits are focus of public forum, Nov. 14

Washington University - St. Louis
By Gerry Everding

Nov. 11, 2008 -- The profitability of corn ethanol processing, the costs and benefits of ethanol as a fuel source, the impact of the ethanol boom on rural America and the future of the biofuel industry will be among topics explored at a conference on the economics of ethanol from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 14 in the main auditorium of the Eric P. Newman Education Center on the medical school campus of Washington University in St. Louis.

Free and open to the public, the conference kicks off with a keynote address by Mark Stowers, vice president of research and development with POET Energy. Stowers explores the evolution of the ethanol industry in the United States and challenges facing the industry.

Geared for non-technical audiences, the conference also includes sessions on the environmental effects of ethanol production, energy balance with fossil fuels, effects on food prices, subsidy rate relative to oil and gas, and effects on farm production decisions.

Speakers include nationally recognized scholars and business leaders, such as Paul Gallagher, Department of Economics, Iowa State; Douglas Tiffany, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota; Jason Henderson, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City - Omaha Branch; Jerry Taylor, CATO Institute; Rick Tolman, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association; and Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri - Columbia.

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