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Keep It On the FarmBy EV World Open Access Article Originally Published: July 03, 2006
John Hansen has been elected six times as the president of the Nebraska Farmer's Union (NeFU), and is the secretary of the National Farmer's Union (NFU). Prior to assuming his post at the NeFU, he operated a diversified cattle and grain operation in Madison County, Nebraska. In this address at the Re-Energize America town hall meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, Hansen described how his organization, which is made up of more than 430 farmers cooperatives across the state, has traditionally taken on important causes, often with great odds against them. One of the issues that his organization championed in the 1960s is what was then called "gasohol". Today we call it ethanol, which now comes in various commercial blends from E10 to E85. The NeFU was instrumental, he noted, in eventually getting the Unicameral into setting up the State Ethanol Board. "One of the things that is forgotten when we talk about ethanol is [that] it has always enjoyed the support of a substantial amount of the environmental community, the labor community and the farm community." As a result of this grassroots effort and collaboration with these various stakeholders, Nebraska is the third largest ethanol producer in the country "…but not for long, we'll be second," Hansen added., pointing out that the state presently has 12 operating ethanol plants and six more under construction. From his perspective of being involved in the ethanol issue for the last 32 years, he believes Nebraska's renewable energy industry -- which includes biofuels and wind -- is still in its infancy. He explained that he began working on cellulosic ethanol 14 years ago, working with then Governor Nelson to secure funding for cellulosic research. While he is delighted that the rest of society is finally catching up to where "my organization has been for a long time", Hansen said that his group is already looking ahead. "It seems to me the greatest single opportunity for progress that marries the need for renewable energy development and rural economic development is to make it not only possible for farmers and ranchers to become the owners of the renewable energy plants across the state of Nebraska but we need to figure out how to put them first in line, so that the folks who own those plants and come from those communities are using those profits to reinvest back into their communities to continue to grow the rural economy. Hansen makes a strong case, based on reports from the GAO, ASE and others, for local ownership of renewable energy production facilities from ethanol and biodiesel plants to farm and ranch-owned wind turbines. Local ownership provides far more economic benefit than outside corporate ownership, he contends. "We're missing the boat if we don't put the emphasis on community-farmer ownership," he stated.
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