01/27/05 Ethanol vote delay; two trade missions

We'll have to wait until February 10th for the Idaho Senate Transportation Committee to decide the fate of a bill that will require a ten percent ethanol blend in all gasoline sold in Idaho. Idaho Farm Bureau is pushing for passage of the bill but opponents say it won't help reduce carbon monoxide levels in the growing Boise Valley and it may send pump prices even higher. Not true says Farm Bureau's Russ Hendricks who cites a recent study on ethanol. HENDRICKS "Without the three and a half billion gallons of ethanol production nationwide everyone of us in the United States would be paying at least 30 cents a gallon more for our gasoline." Governor Dirk Kempthorne is hitting the road again. He will lead Idaho companies and organizations on two trade missions this year. The mission to Asia from May 14-28 includes stops in Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei. The Mexico mission on October 22-29 will visit Monterrey, Mexico City, and Guadalajara. Kempthorne believes trade missions are critical to Idaho's economic development effort, especially when one-third of the state's agricultural and manufactured products are shipped abroad. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott