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Hoosiers testify at Hearing in the Heartland

Indiana’s Lt. Governor, the state’s Secretary of Agriculture traveled to Des Moines, Iowa today to testify at the “Hearing in the Heartland” in support of the Renewable Fuels Standard.

Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann says the ethanol industry is a vital component to Indiana’s economy.  “In fact it’s over 3,000 jobs that hit mostly our rural communities,” she says.  “It’s 40 percent of our corn and soybeans in Indiana going to support this industry and it’s about our nation’s energy security.”

The Lt. Governor tells Brownfield that they feel strongly that the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal is going in the wrong direction.  “We think the industry was heading into a good spot and doing what we wanted it to do in the diversification of our energy sources in Indiana and the nation,” she says.  “We’re just wanting to be heard just here in Iowa along with the other Heartland states to make sure we continue to make progress in utilizing the great corn and soybean resources we have to develop these alternative fuels.”

Also testifying this morning from Indiana, Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture Ted McKinney; Kyle Cline from Indiana Farm Bureau; and Indiana farmer Mike Shuter.

AUDIO: Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann, Hearing in the Heartland (1:45mp3)