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Washington, D.C.
February 11, 2009
The
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) said that comments
made today by the Environmental Working Group and associated
Grocery Manufacturers Association groups are just another
attempt to prevent the ethanol industry from decreasing the
United States’ dependence on foreign oil. NCGA further asserted
that there are many environmental benefits from corn ethanol and
that corn farmers continue to be good stewards of the
environment.
“These environmental groups are stirring up fear for the
American public at a time when Americans are already struggling
due to the faltering world economy, job losses and high costs of
food brought on by some food companies’ record profits and
greed,” said NCGA President Bob Dickey.
“The fact remains that ‘made in the U.S.’ corn ethanol is here
-- and available today -- to strengthen the U.S. economy, create
new, U.S.-based jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Wind and solar power are good options for energy; however, these
will take years to have the same impact that ethanol is having
now,” Dickey said. “Furthermore, corn supply is ready and
available for ethanol expansion since corn growers have
increased corn stock to 1.8 billion bushels.”
Recent studies, including the acclaimed University of Nebraska
study released earlier this year, show that ethanol has many
environmental and economic benefits, including:
- Ethanol production and use
today reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 59 percent
compared to gasoline.
- The production and use of
6.5 billion gallons of ethanol in 2007 displaced 228 million
barrels of imported oil valued at $16 billion. Ethanol
experts expect those numbers to all increase in 2008.
- Ethanol has provided more
than 260,000 jobs across the economy, with more growth
expected.
- Water use by ethanol
plants has been reduced by 26 percent since 2001.
- America’s ethanol industry
has added more than $34 billion of new revenue for the
federal government since 1978 and reduced America’s cost of
foreign oil by nearly $100 billion. This is a 5 to 1 return
on America’s investment in ethanol.
In January 2009, the “Field to
Market” Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture program
issued a report providing the first-ever framework for measuring
agriculture sustainability.
The initial index shows that soil-loss efficiency trends have
improved substantially -- by 30 to nearly 70 percent -- for the
four crops evaluated. Energy use per unit of output is down in
corn, soybean and cotton production by nearly 40 to more than 60
percent. Irrigated water use per unit of output has also
decreased -- 20 percent to nearly 50 percent -- while carbon
emissions per unit of output have dropped by about a third for
these three crops.
Specifically, corn has seen the following changes between 1987
and 2007.
- Land use: The
amount of land needed to produce one bushel has
decreased 37 percent.
- Soil loss:
Manageable soil loss per bushel of corn has decreased by
69 percent.
- Energy: The
energy used to produce a bushel of corn has decreased by
37 percent.
- Climate impact:
Corn production has seen a 30 percent decrease in
greenhouse gas emissions per bushel.
The National Corn Growers
Association (NCGA) is a national organization founded in 1957
and represents approximately 35,000 dues-paying corn growers and
the interests of more than 300,000 farmers who contribute
through corn checkoff programs in their states. NCGA and its 48
affiliated state associations and checkoff organizations work
together to help protect and advance the corn producer's
interests. |
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