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State of the UnionPresident Bush delivered his State of the Union address for the first time before a Democratic majority in both the House and the Senate. This is the equivalent of a playing a home basketball game when the opposing team's fans outnumbered your own. Putting additional pressure on the President was the fact that 11 people in the audience want to take his job. That's 11 faces who, as they listened to the president speak, think they can do a better job leading our country. I'm sure many of them were also wondering how they would look standing at the podium, delivering an hour-long speech on every major network. For the most part the president appeared more calm and confident than in his previous six State of the Union addresses. The president's domestic policy agenda tackled the large issues of energy, health care, immigration, budget and education. There was no mention of the farm bill like many in the agriculture circles thought might happen. However, the president's energy policy will certainly affect all aspects of rural America. Thirty-five billion gallons is the magic number. That's the amount of alternative fuel the president wants produced every year by 2017. To put this in context, U.S. renewable fuels production topped 5 billion gallons in 2006. According to USDA, ethanol production is projected to be anywhere between 13 and 15 billion gallons in 2012 when the current renewable fuels mandate targets 7.5 billion gallons for production. It seems the marketplace is doing a good job of exceeding the mandate on its own. The administration was rather clear in their vocabulary shift from a "Renewable Fuels Standard" to an "Alternative Fuels Standard." This will allow other technologies like those that turn coal into diesel fuel be included in the 35 billion gallon calculation. Livestock producers should be pleased that not all of this mandate will come from corn ethanol. Last year 20 percent of harvested corn went to ethanol production. Additionally with this expanded scope, livestock producers may find more federal support for their efforts to turn animal fat into alternative fuels. This process is costly but through research may help balance high feed costs. Reactions from lawmakers were generally supportive of the president's proposal. Many see opportunities in their states for cellulosic ethanol facilities. According to information released by the White House, the administration's farm bill proposal will include $2 billion in loans for cellulosic ethanol plants and over $1.6 billion over ten years for energy innovation, bio-energy research, and energy efficiency grants. The administration's complete farm bill proposal is rumored to be released shortly before the president releases his budget the week of February 5th. Now the president is scheduled to travel across the country promoting his new policy agenda and building support for his initiatives. Promoting an aggressive domestic agenda may be the only way, short of finding Osama, to raise his approval rating. B 4 1/29/07 6 Star Midwest Ag Date: 1/24/07
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