BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven, the North Dakota Ethanol Council and ethanol industry leaders today announced the establishment of a new program that will fund the newly-established North Dakota Ethanol Council’s marketing activities by dedicating a share of the industry’s production profits to promotion of ethanol.
Also known as a check-off, the program dedicates three one-hundredths of one cent per gallon of ethanol produced and sold in the state to develop research, education programs, promotion, and market development efforts to help build the state’s ethanol industry. The Council’s projected annual budget is $100,000.
“North Dakota’s agricultural economy and rural communities have directly benefited from the growth of the ethanol industry in our state,” Hoeven said. “Ethanol creates jobs and boosts income for our farmers.”
The North Dakota Ethanol Council includes representatives from all of the state’s major ethanol producers, including ADM Corn Processing, Walhalla; Blue Flint Ethanol, Underwood; Hankinson Renewable Energy, Hankinson; Red Trail Energy, LLC, Richardton; and Tharaldson Ethanol Plant, Casselton. Jeff Zueger of Blue Flint Ethanol serves as the group’s chairman.
“As an industry, we are excited to have the Council established and staff hired,” says Jeff Zueger, NDEC chairman and Blue Flint Ethanol general manager. “These steps allow us to move forward with a coordinated effort to expand the ethanol industry in North Dakota.”
The concept for the North Dakota Ethanol Council grew out of the EmPower North Dakota Commission, which was created by the Governor and authorized by the State Legislature in 2007 to further advance the state’s comprehensive energy policy, known as Empower ND. EmPower North Dakota works to develop all of the state’s energy resources, both renewables and traditional energy resources.
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