Ethanol Tax Credit Extended in Illinois

CBS St. Louis
January 25, 2011 11:30 AM

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (IRN) – An one-year extension of a tax credit for ethanol blenders is good news for some and not-so-good news for others, according to a University of Illinois commodities expert.

Scott Irwin, a professor of agricultural economics, says the continued promotion of ethanol keeps corn and soybean prices up – as well as, in general, Illinois farmland values. But livestock producers who have to buy such commodities are less enthused.

Irwin says the extension can be considered a first look at the continued debate over governmental support of the biofuel industry. As for whether this is all good for America, Irwin says as an economist, he shouldn’t weigh in; he says that is a question for the political types to address.

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