Florida Ag Chief Excited About Ethanol

There were about 500 people in attendance at the second annual Farm to Fuel Summit in St. Petersburg, Florida July 18-20. That’s double last year’s attendance and Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Charles Bronson says he expects it to just keep growing because the interest is very high.

“We knew last year this event was going to get bigger,” said Bronson. “This is a value-added issue for us. We grow a lot of food supply in the state of Florida, we can turn right around and grow a fuel supply right behind it and keep the food supply going and add a second or even a third crop for fuel.”

The future for Florida is in cellulosic ethanol and Bronson believes that will happen sooner than most people think. “I fully believe that you’re going to see some small operational plants within a year to year and a half. I think you’re going to see some medium sized plants in operation within the next 2-3 years.” Within five years, he thinks a few hundred million gallons of cellulosic ethanol will be produced.

Listen to interview with Bronson here: Bronson Interview (MP3 file)