U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer weighs in

Schafer Dakotafest story - Forbes.com

The Farm Bill that Congress passed in June calls for production of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, including 21 billion gallons from sources other than corn and soybeans.

Bumping that total production to 42 billion gallons would displace 1 billion barrels of oil that wouldn't have to be imported, Schafer said.

"If we do that, it would double the farm income in this country," he said.

Congress will consider legislation covering the use of forest residue from places such as the Black Hills (nyse: BKH - news - people ) National Forest for cellulosic ethanol production, Thune said.

For the short term, the promise of bumper corn and soybean crops will help ease concern over the role renewable fuels has had on higher food prices, Schafer said.

"This level of production should ease some of the pressure on retail prices and cool down that debate about whether we're making the right choice about food versus fuel with our corps," Schafer said.

Biofuels already have saved motorists about $100 million in fuel costs at the pump, and removing them from the mix would do nothing to ease food prices, he said.