Farmers To Benefit From New Energy Bill

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(WEST LAFAYETTE) - Congress has passed a super-size shot in the arm for farmers — and it’s not the still-pending farm bill.

The energy bill President Bush signed into law last week requires the nation to replace 10-percent of its fossil-fuel usage with renewable energy within 15 years. That means an all-but guaranteed market for corn, to make ethanol.

Even if the energy market shifts, Purdue Agronomist Chris Hurt says farmers are the likely beneficiaries. He expects the next focus of the biofuels market will be cellulosic ethanol, which uses switchgrass, corn stalks, and other plants and agricultural waste.

Hurt says corn producers are already expanding their acreage to meet the demand for ethanol. That's prompted calls for more land devoted to wheat and soy after those crops were crowded out.

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