E85 fuel now on sale at MFA Oil Company in Bernie

U.S. Rep. JoAnn Emerson pumps some of the E85 ethanol-gasoline blended fuel now being sold at MFA Oil Co. in Bernie, Mo., as other officials look on. From left: state Sen. Rob Mayer, Bernie Mayor Willard Adams, state Rep. Otto Bean, Greg Branum, Mo. Rural Development director, Mike Miller of Bootheel Ethanol, MFA CEO Jerry Taylor and Quincy Murphy of Bootheel Ethanol. [Click to enlarge]

E85 ethanol-based motor fuel, a blend of 85 percent ethyl alcohol made from corn and 15 percent gasoline, is now on sale in Bernie.

And officials have hailed the grand opening of the E85 pumps at MFA Oil Co.'s Bernie outlet as a major advance for both area farmers and for national energy independence. "This is a great day for Southeast Missouri," said Greg Branum, state Rural Development director for the federal Department of Agriculture.

Branum noted the fuel, made largely from ethanol derived from locally grown corn, would benefit both farmers by providing another market and also motorists whose vehicles were equipped (or modified) to accept the fuel. "It means more jobs, it means more money and it means less dependence on foreign oil," he said.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo-Eighth District, added her enthusiastic approval of the opening of the E85 pumps.

"Nothing is more important to farmers," she said to spontaneous applause from the 100-plus attendees, "than for them to be able to take fuel from their fields.

"This is a national security issue. Anything that gets us below 60 percent dependence on foreign energy makes us all better off."

Emerson added that the potential for an expanded market for Missouri corn, especially that grown in the Bootheel, was such that the demand for corn bade fair to outstrip the supply. "This is our first step to a secure future," she said. "We'll have so much demand we won't be able to grow enough."

State Sen. Rob Mayer, R-25th District, likewise hailed the opening of the E85 pumps. "Today marks the dawn of a new age," he said. "It marks the transition from petroleum fuels to renewable fuels.

"And I don't have to tell you what a boost this is for area farmers."

State Rep. Otto Bean, (R-163rd District, reminded the audience of the impending commencement of operations at the new ethanol manufacturing plant in Malden. And he hailed the expanded use for corn produced in his district, as had previous speakers. "Value added is just what we need," he said.

"Right now it's hard to sell corn at a good price."

However, he added, the law of supply and demand would soon take effect on the price of corn-as-fuel. "One of these days the markets will react with higher prices for corn," he said.

Bean offered a caution, however, by reminding everyone that E85 was not a fuel that just any gasoline-powered vehicle could use. "Some of your cars will need to be modified," he said.

"But with such high prices for gasoline we need this."

A listing of vehicles that can run on either E85 or standard gasoline, so-called "flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs)" may be found at http://www.e85fuel.com/e85101/flexfuelve.... Vehicles not on the list can be modified by the addition of a fuel sensor that senses the ratio of alcohol to gasoline and upgrading of fuel lines and tanks with more corrosion-resistant parts.

As part of an effort to promote the sale of E85, the Bernie MFA station was selling it on Friday for 85 cents a gallon between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Before the promotion went into effect, MFA was selling E85 for $2.329 a gallon.

In the course of the grand opening, Branum and Emerson presented checks totaling $650,000 to Bootheel Ethanol, LLC, which owns the Malden ethanol plant. According to information from Rural development, $1509,000 is to cover start-up operating costs at the Malden facility, while $500,000 is to be used for equipment purchases. The close proximity of the ethanol plant to the corn growing areas is expected greatly to reduce transportation costs to farmers bring their produce to the plant.

Everyone who spoke at the event praised the efforts of one man who was not there. "This event highlights the efforts of [US Sen.] Jim Talent," said MFA Oil Co. CEO Jerry Taylor.

Noting the newly enacted Energy Bill calls for a standard of 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol to be produced in the United States by 2012, Taylor told the crowd the House bill had called for 5 billion gallons, while the Senate version had called for 8 billion. "So it says a lot about Jim Talent that what was in the final bill was so much closer to the Senate bill than the House bill," Taylor said.

"The American public may not know anything about that, but Missouri farmers sure do."

Talent was unable to come to Bernie due to bad weather in St. Louis. "I know Jim was heartbroken not to be able to come," Emerson said of her fellow Republican.