The World of Ethanol revolves around renewability – both as a fuel source, and as a growing market for the U.S. corn grower. In the past 10 years, bushels of corn consumed by the ethanol market have grown by nearly 300 million annually to a total of 680 million bushels in 2001.

Ethanol is the third-largest market for U.S. corn and accounts for more than $3 billion in farm income, or 30-35 cents per bushel. There is a long way to go.

The NCGA is committed to ethanol for many reasons. The most basic reason is economic. Ethanol makes sense for farmers and rural America. In addition to boosting farm incomes, the production of ethanol has sparked new capital investment and economic development in rural America, where thousands of farmers are owner-investors in cooperative ethanol production facilities. Ethanol also means the creation of jobs in these communities, leading to long-term civic stability.

U.S. ethanol markets continue to grow. Thirty-nine plants are slated to open by the end of 2003, adding 1.0 billion gallons of ethanol production capacity to the system. To give you some perspective, that's a market expansion of nearly 133 percent.

As much as the ethanol market has grown, we have yet to scratch the surface. The United States currently imports almost 60 percent of its annual petroleum consumption, and that dependence is increasing every year. As a fuel manufactured from abundant renewable resources and one that offers substantial environmental benefits, ethanol has growing support from many congressional delegations and environmental groups. In fact, the Clean Air Act now requires the use of oxygenated gasoline to improve air quality in the nation's most polluted cities.

The NCGA has established a presence in Washington, D.C., and around the country, ensuring that progress made leads to continued growth. In 2001, the NCGA successfully blocked California's efforts to gain a waiver for the oxygenate requirement of the Clean Air Act. The net result: more market opportunity for ethanol in California and around the country. We have also fought to establish a Renewable Fuels Standard that calls for replacing 3 percent of the nation's transportation BTUs with renewable fuels by 2011 and 5 percent by 2016. These goals are aggressive, but illustrate the momentum behind the ethanol movement.

It's an exciting time in the World of Ethanol, and the NCGA is proud to help lead the movement. Ethanol has come a long way in the past decade, and its potential continues to defy boundaries.