Ethanol production will have to increase to meet government mandates

High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal

Ethanol plant construction has come to a halt, but the mandates by government are not declining, which could mean prices could jump again. Producers should prepare for round two, a Texas AgriLife Extension Service specialist said.

"Expanded ethanol production is probably a given; however, the pace is expected to slow due to capacity limits and policy," said Dr. Steve Amosson, AgriLife Extension economist.
The president-elect and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture are both big supporters of renewable fuels, Amosson said. President-elect Barack Obama has stated, "I have established a goal to have 60 billion gallons of our fuel come from sustainable, affordable biofuels in 2022."

The reality right now is that nationwide 213 ethanol plants were in production or under construction in September 2007, with many more on the drawing table, he said.

Nine months later, some of the plants that were under construction have come into operation, but no new plants have started construction.

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