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| Corn
growers meet with Sen. Jim Wright, chairman of the New York Senate
Energy & Telecommunications Committee. Pictured, left to right,
are NCGA Ethanol Marketing Committee Chairman Boyd Smith, Jim Czub
of the New York Corn Growers Association, Sen. Wright, New York
Corn Growers Association President Kevin Swartley, New York Corn
Growers Association Executive Ann Peck and New York Corn Growers
Association Vice President Keith Culverson. |
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| Corn
growers address the media at a press conference Thursday morning
at the New York State Legislative Office Building. Pictured, from
right, are NCGA Ethanol Marketing Committee Chairman Boyd Smith,
New York Corn Growers Association President Kevin Swartley, New
York Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee Chairman Sen.
Jim Wright and NCGA Marketing Communications Manager Gary Bradley. |
Corn
Growers Tell 'True Story' of Ethanol in New York (11-01-01)
The
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), working closely with the New
York Corn Growers Association, made great strides this week telling
the "true story" about ethanol to key legislators and agencies,
academia and consumers in the Empire State.
Recently,
a particular hurdle that corn growers have faced in New York and the
nation was a report by Cornell University Professor David Pimentel,
who positioned ethanol as an inefficient and uneconomical fuel. Corn
growers met that hurdle head-on in a peer-to-peer meeting Tuesday with
Pimentel.
"Our meeting was very cordial and interesting," said McClelland,
who represented corn growers along with Colorado School of Mines Professor
Mike Graboski. "Dr. Pimentel listened to our concerns about his
report, and we are encouraged that he asked us to provide additional
data so that he can re-evaluate his position."
A key
concern by corn growers is that Pimentel's conclusions that corn ethanol
production achieves a negative balance were based on outdated and flawed
data. McClelland said NCGA will provide unbiased information from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Energy and other
sources refuting Pimentel's claims.
Corn
growers also met with other Cornell University professors and researchers
to discuss the Pimentel report, Cornell ethanol research and the results
of a rural economic impact study commissioned by the New York Corn Growers
Association.
"We
were very well received by the Cornell staff, who expressed a keen interest
in renewable fuels and the impact the ethanol industry would have on
the rural economy in New York and nationwide," said York, Neb.,
farmer Boyd Smith, chairman of the NCGA Ethanol Marketing Committee.
The
corn growers also discussed the rural economic impact study data with
Sen. Jim Wright, who helped fund the study, along with key New York
agency representatives.
"The
rural economic impact study, which would apply not only in New York
but in other states where the production of ethanol would benefit economies
in rural sectors, indicates that the ethanol industry can sustain approximately
700 jobs through the annual production of 30 million gallons of denatured
ethanol plus related co-products," said Kevin Swartley, president
of the New York Corn Growers Association, and a corn grower from Romulus,
N.Y. "It is anticipated that these jobs will sustain more than
$45 million of economic activity and provide $16 million or more in
annual incomes to New Yorkers."
Swartley
added that a one-time benefit of about $91 million in economic activity
will result from plant construction and from preparation of land for
crop production.
Sen.
Wright also stressed the potential the ethanol industry presents for
New York's rural economy.
"Innovative
technology is paving the way for new industries and opportunities in
New York," Wright said. "In a time when the use of alternative
fuels is becoming more feasible, this could be a viable path for new
York to explore."
Smith
concluded that corn growers will continue to work with all of the groups
they met to ensure the development of the ethanol industry in New York.
"Our
work did not stop with this week's meetings," Smith emphasized.
. "Actually, it just began. Everyone that we met with was interested
in working with us on these critical issues."
For
more information about NCGA and ethanol visit, www.ncga.com.
Last reviewed
November 1, 2001
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