We had a couple of politicians with us here today at the ACE Convention. The first one on stage was Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

When I asked him about his vision for the future of ethanol in Minnesota he said he wants to be the benchmark state for the rest of the country on the development, use and availability of ethanol. . You can listen to my interview with him here (1 min): ace-07-pawlenty.mp3

Next up was the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Collin Peterson who represents Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District. After his speech I asked him about why his farm bill contained less money for renewable fuels research than USDA asked for. Peterson says that they didn’t want to overdo it and that he feels that there is adequate funding in his bill. I also asked him about the whole food vs. fuel issue. He thinks that has died down and as he put it was “ginned up” by people who had other interests.

You can listen to my interview with Congressman Peterson here: ace-07-peterson.mp3