ST. PAUL -- A key policymaker crafting the next federal farm bill said legislation will emphasize funding research of emerging renewable fuel sources in the Midwest and elsewhere.
U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, who will be House Agriculture Committee chairman when Democrats officially take over the House in January, said Wednesday that future investments in corn-based ethanol must be accompanied by a greater focus on other ethanol sources.
The corn ethanol industry is "going gangbusters," Peterson said, but alone it won't produce enough renewable energy to meet growing consumption demands.
Peterson's remarks came in a speech to agriculture and energy officials gathered in St. Paul for the Midwest Ag Energy Network Summit.
Research funding will be available across the United States, not just in renewable energy-leading Midwestern states, Peterson said. That approach will help identify a variety of new ethanol sources.
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In Minnesota or North Dakota, that could be switchgrass or bluegrass, Peterson said, but there will be different cellulose sources in other states.
Finding those sources soon is important because cellulosic ethanol plants could be up and running within five years, said Peterson, who represents the 7th Congressional District in western Minnesota.
The first challenge facing Peterson and other agriculture-minded lawmakers is to secure funding for new farm legislation. Peterson said the bill's size will be determined by March. He cautioned the crowd Wednesday to expect less funding than what was in the 2002 bill, which expires next year.
State agriculture officials across the country believe much of the 2002 farm bill has been effective, Roger Johnson said.
Johnson, North Dakota agriculture commissioner, said the new farm bill should largely resemble the current policy. Specifically, the 2007 bill must continue to provide financial aid to farmers, he said during a panel discussion at the industry summit.
For example, corn prices are high now but the market will eventually soften, Johnson added in an interview.
"Putting in a safety net is really important," he said.
Panel member Robert Carlson, president of the North Dakota Farmers Union, said the new legislation should help triple the amount of ethanol used in the United States in the next 10 years.
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In addition, Carlson said the federal government should work to increase the number of gas pumps nationwide that dispense E85 fuel -- a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline -- and the number of flexible-fuel vehicles that use E85.
Peterson, a Detroit Lakes Democrat, reiterated his prediction that Congress will include in the new legislation a permanent disaster relief policy for crop farmers. The incoming chairman said he recently met with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, who indicated the Bush administration's support for a disaster relief program but is worried about the cost.
