State Sen.

Monday, February 14, 2000

State Sen. Pat Piper (D-Austin) has authored legislation that will boost production capacity at the Exol ethanol plant at Glenville.

The legislation also will benefit the local economy and increase the market for Minnesota’s corn production, according to Piper.

"This bill, which will benefit ethanol plants all across Minnesota, will allow our local Exol plant to produce an additional 2 million gallons of ethanol and receive an additional $400,000 in producer payments from the state," Piper said.

The legislation, which was introduced Feb. 3 in the Senate, will allow producers who have been approved to produce 12 million gallons of ethanol to produce an addition 3 million gallons – 15 million gallons total – of ethanol.

The bill also will allow the state agriculture commissioner to make plant production payments regardless of approved capacity and production limits.

The proposal also was a major component of the "Rural Blueprint" agenda announced by Senate leaders last week.

"I know the value this has for rural Minnesota, because production of value-added agriculture products are essential if Minnesota’s rural economy is going to survive," Piper said.

Piper, who participated in a rural Minnesota farm tour that members of the Senate’s Agriculture and Rural Development committee took last fall, said, "We learned from plant managers and farmers who now have a predictable market for their corn and how this can only bolster our state’s sagging rural economy."

"Not only is ethanol-added fuel better for our environment, but it gives rural Minnesota a better chance of survival and provides a market close to the growers," she said.

The state senator also said ethanol-based household products "add another dimension to the use of corn and ethanol production."

"Ethanol and ethanol production is a win-win for this state," Piper said. "and I believe this Legislature understands the value of wedding local production of a crop with production of another valued product such as ethanol in the immediate area.