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 SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate this week would entice farmers located near ethanol biorefineries to grow dedicated energy crops.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said his bill would offer incentives to farmers who plant switchgrass, fast-growing trees and other cellulosic feedstocks and deliver them to the nation's next generation of ethanol plants. Cellulose is the woody material in branches and stems that makes plants hard.
"For cellulosic to achieve its potential, Congress needs to help this industry overcome some of the initial market barriers," Thune said Wednesday during a conference call. "And if we are serious in the country about reducing our dependence upon foreign oil, we have to be serious about giving the necessary jump start to America's budding alternative fuels industry and the farmers who supply it."
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