Value Added for Rural America

The chairman of the National Corn Growers Association and the Undersecretary for Rural Development with USDA were two of the main speakers at the 2007 Fuel Ethanol Conference in St. Louis Wednesday.

Gerald Tumbleson, a Minnesota farmer and hog producer, made four points. “Number one, supply creates demand in agriculture. In everything else, demand creates supply,” he said. Second, he says, “The world is short on two things: protein and energy.” Thirdly, he said, “The sun is brand new money every time it shines on a green leaf.” Finally, he asks, “What is the premium for security?’

USDA Undersecretary Tom Dorr told attendees that they are building a future of incredible, even stunning, promise for agriculture. “Renewable energy is for the most part rural energy,” he said. “Americans last year spent more on imported oil then they did for every bushel of wheat, ear of corn, bag of cotton, every hog, every steer, every apple, every tomato, everything produced. Imbed this in your mind. The cost of oil imports today exceeds the total value of agricultural production in the United States and every drop of imported oil is potentially a take-away opportunity for each and every one of you.”

You can listen to both of these entire speeches here: Speeches (26 min MP3)