The government wants to “increase the renewable (ethanol) content requirement in gasoline to 15 per cent as early as 2025,” the Environmental Plan says.
Corn producers are pleased with the government’s decision.
“It sounds to me like it’s a good thing,” John Wouters, a cash crop producer with about 300 corn acres in Perth County, told Farms.com. “We produce a crop that can be used to help the environment, so having us involved in their plan makes sense.”
Joe Kloepfer, a cash crop producer from Brant County, agrees.
“This should definitely help the farming community given the price of corn,” he said to Farms.com. “I don’t know where the corn industry would be without the ethanol sector. It has made growing corn profitable and the demand has been there.”
Kloepfer can also appreciate the government’s actions from a different perspective.
He is a founding member and vice-chair of the board of directors with IGPC Ethanol, a division of Integrated Grain Processors Co-Operative.
Putting more ethanol into gasoline would increase demand for the product, he said.
“Right now we have an oversupply of ethanol, so the more that’s needed to meet demands, the better position we’ll be in to help provide it,” he said.
Under the current Environmental Protection Act, Ontario gasoline must contain at least 5 per cent ethanol.
Last December, Ontario’s environment ministry proposed doubling the ethanol content in gasoline from 5 per cent to 10 per cent by 2020.