Proposed bill supports farmers switching energy crops to corn for ethanol

[May 18, 2007]  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Sen. Amy Klobuchar has introduced a bill that would provide incentive for farmers to produce alternative crops to create the next generation of ethanol, which is now made largely from corn.

Under Klobuchar's Farm-to-Fuel Investment Act, farmers would get help for three years if they switch to producing cellulosic energy crops such as prairie grass instead of corn and other carbohydrate-based crops.

The Minnesota Democrat is co-author of the bill along with Iowa's Tom Harkin and North Dakota's Kent Conrad. The National Farmers Union is backing the bill, which appears to have bipartisan support.

[Text copied from file received from AP Digital]