Immediate Release:
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Nebraska Corn Board contacts:
Randy Klein: 800.632.6761
NE Soybean Board: 402.441.3240
Governor Heineman proclaims September Renewable Fuels Month
GRAND ISLAND, NE – Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman declared September Renewable Fuels Month today during a proclamation ceremony at Husker Harvest Days.
The proclamation is a reminder that corn ethanol and soy biodiesel help reduce this country’s dependence on foreign oil, are better for the environment, are produced locally and are an economic development success story –the biofuels industry has brought billions of dollars in new investments and hundreds of jobs to mostly rural communities.
Jon Holzfaster, chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board, and Gregg Fujan, chairman of the Nebraska Soybean Board, thanked the governor for his support of the renewable fuels industry in Nebraska.
“We appreciated Governor Heineman signing this proclamation and reiterating his support for renewable fuels production and use in Nebraska,” said Holzfaster, a corn and cattle producer from Paxton, Neb. “Ethanol is a homegrown product made in biorefineries in small-town America that employ local people, buy local goods and services, pay local taxes and, importantly, provide a fuel that helps keep more of our money within this state and country. In fact, we all benefit through lower fuel costs and a more diversified fuel supply.”
Fujan, a soybean producer from Weston, Neb., noted that 62 percent of the state’s soybean farmers are using soy biodiesel today, a figure that has steadily grown over the years, as they are leading the way for others that use diesel to switch to soy biodiesel.
“Over the past year there has been significant progress in the biodiesel industry within the state with the construction of new plants in Beatrice and Scribner,” Fujan said. “This capacity helps farmers and ranchers and truck drivers use an alternative diesel fuel made from Nebraska soybeans.”
Those soy biodiesel facilities combine with the 22 operating ethanol plants to make Nebraska a big player in the renewable fuels industry. “Nebraska is the second-largest ethanol producing state in the country, and our soy biodiesel industry is growing,” Holzfaster said. “We’re leading the charge to reducing our dependence on foreign oil and growing a diversified fuel supply.”
Photo available by calling 800.632.6761 (Cutline for photo-Announcing Proclamation of September as Renewable Fuels month in Nebraska at Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island.)
The Nebraska Corn Board is a self-help program, funded and managed by Nebraska corn farmers. Producers invest in the program at a rate of 1/4 of a cent per bushel of corn sold. Nebraska corn checkoff funds are invested in programs of market development, research and education.
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