Purdue research, graduates help fuel Indiana's ethanol explosion

By Randy Woodson, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture

I was fortunate to be included in the groundbreaking for The Andersons' new ethanol plant in Cass County. It is projected to be a $150-million facility, producing 110 million gallons of ethanol per year.

As Gov. Mitch Daniels said, Indiana has gone from nowhere to national leadership in biofuels production. I'm proud to say that Purdue has helped make it happen.

Purdue scientists like Michael Ladisch and Nancy Ho have refined production processes and yeasts that allow more of the corn kernel to be turned into alcohol. More efficient ethanol production adds value to Indiana's economy and to the corn crop produced by Hoosier farmers.

We also provide the people it takes to turn ethanol production into a business. These plants offer high-paying jobs for Indiana college graduates, especially in agriculture. The plants need engineers, chemists, marketers and grain buyers. These are good jobs, with salaries starting in the $40,000 range.

Ethanol also helps reduce our dependency on foreign oil, a fact that's hard to ignore with gas prices and the War on Terrorism dominating headlines. On Aug. 29, Purdue will partner with Sen. Richard Lugar to hold a national summit on energy security, an event that promises to bring even more attention to the importance of biofuels.

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