http://news.excite.com:80/news/r/010222/11/economy-farm-veneman
US needs more grain-based fuel production - Veneman Updated 11:57 AM ET February 22, 2001WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Thursday the U.S. farm industry needs to increase efforts to develop alternative fuels like grain-based ethanol and bio-diesel as the United States searches for new sources of energy. "The nation needs new sources of clean, dependable energy and agriculture needs new markets -- a coincidence of needs upon which we should capitalize," Veneman said in her first public address at the USDA's annual Agricultural Outlook Forum. She did not elaborate. President George W. Bush has repeatedly stated that the country needs to increase its domestic energy supplies and become less dependent on crude oil imports. A White House task force led by Vice President Dick Cheney is preparing a broad national plan to boost domestic energy supplies, including allowing oil and gas companies access to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Cheney is a former top executive of oilfield services giant Halliburton Co. . U.S. farm groups have long supported additional government subsidies and programs to boost production of alternative fuels like ethanol, which is made from corn and is mixed with gasoline. The USDA earlier this month selected 79 bioenergy plants in 19 states to participate in a $150 million program encouraging production of alternative fuels. In her wide-ranging speech, Veneman also broadly outlined the Bush administration's agricultural objectives for the coming months. She said the new administration's priorities include expanding trade, strengthening food safety and continuing to provide farmers an economic safety net. Veneman, a California attorney who has been on the job for a month, declined to take questions after her speech. Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
