Nebraska is a biofuels powerhouse - the second and third largest producer of ethanol and corn, respectively, in the country. With 25 active ethanol plants and a capacity of more than 2.5 billion gallons, the importance of biofuels to our state economy cannot be understated. Biodiesel production in Nebraska has seen exponential growth as well. Thanks to innovation and technological developments, biodiesel production has grown from 25 million gallons in 2004 to 2.9 billion gallons in 2019. Ethanol has an economic impact of $5 billion in Nebraska, and in turn the industry directly employs more than 1,400 Nebraskans.

“The naughtiest thing I did as a child was when my dad and I went to town, and at the store I took off and tried to run away. My dad and his friend spent the day trying to track me down,” my grandma, Tammie Wheelbarger, shared as she sat at the dining room table and ate some homemade banana bread. I was surprised. I can’t see her doing that because she has always been calm and very kind when I was growing up.

Editor,

Getting Americans back to work has been one of the primary challenges facing our nation since the COVID-19 pandemic began nearly one year ago. While the employment situation varies widely from state to state, ensuring every unemployed American can reconnect with work must be a top priority. In Nebraska we are fortunate to have an unemployment rate of just 3%, making us one of 18 states that have an unemployment rate below 5%. Other states which have had more restrictive lockdowns are seeing much higher rates of unemployment.