AMES, Iowa – Iowa State University is well-positioned to be a national leader in the research efforts that will drive the development of a national bioeconomy, State Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey said this week.

Northey was in Ames to attend the 2008 Biobased Industry Outlook Conference at ISU. During his visit, he recorded an interview with Doug Cooper, ISU Extension market news director. Their discussion centered on what the bioeconomy will mean to the future of the state.

“So much has happened in the last five years affecting how production agriculture operates, and rapid changes are expected to continue," Northey said. Increased demand for commodities grown here “has made a real difference to the Iowa economy. Four or five years ago, corn was in the $1.75 to $2.25 (per bushel) range. Now it is $5 and even $6.”

Higher prices have created incentives for boosting production efficiencies, and ISU can encourage those trends through its research programs, Northey said. “We’ve lost some of the research leadership that we enjoyed in the 1980s, but we need to step it back up.” Twenty-five percent of the economy in Iowa is tied to agriculture, he said, and that is why ISU should be able to attract state and federal research support.

The complete interview with Northey is available on the ISU Extension web site.

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