This issue of EPM contains the most recent industry job survey data. The participation in this survey by ethanol producers and employees from around the country was excellent, giving us the ability to report with a high degree of accuracy on the employment statistics of the domestic ethanol industry. Estimates are that the direct and indirect jobs created by the U.S. ethanol industry are nearly 500,000.

These are domestic jobs, jobs in rural America, jobs that allow people to buy homes, boats, cars, to save for retirement, to educate their children and to improve their standard of living. The revenue generated by these jobs creates tremendous economic stimulus to Wall Street and Main Street.

The economic impact of the ethanol industry is in the billions of dollars. This is clearly not an industry that can be brushed off as insignificant. The importance of the domestic ethanol industry to the vibrancy of the U.S. economy, especially the rural economy, cannot be overstated.

Recently, there have been numerous issues raised about the domestic ethanol industry. I'll simply state that the larger the ethanol industry gets, the greater its economic impact, the more jobs it creates and the greater impact it has on the oil industry, the louder and more intense and outlandish the protests will become.

I invite you to read the data contained in this issue. Job satisfaction is high, longevity is second to none and nearly all of the employees in the industry have full health insurance coverage and outstanding ancillary benefit packages. These are good, high-paying jobs that help make living in a rural community worthwhile and affordable.

At a time when unemployment in the United States is in double digits, when people are losing their homes and the government is spending billions of dollars in bail-out money, the ethanol industry continues to contribute to our economic well-being. And the industry is still growing. The ethanol industry has earned its rightful place in America's domestic energy pool.
That's the way I see it.