The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Former Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey spoke at Big River Resourses annual meeting March 23rd at the Pzazz Conference Center in Burlington, Iowa.
The fame Northey (R) ran for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture on a platform of expanding opportunities in renewable energy, promoting conservation and stewardship, and telling the story of Iowa agriculture, and he has been amazed during his three terms he served in Iowa.
He served Iowa Secretary of Ag from 2006 until he resigned in September 2017 after he was nominated by then, President Donald Trump, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services.
As part of a reorganization of USDA under Trump, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue created a new Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, as directed by the 2014 Farm Bill.
The creation of the new mission area prompted the realignment of several agencies under a newly named Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC), the position which Northey held until 2021. In 2022, Northey was named CEO of Agribusiness Assoc. of Iowa representing agri-based businesses as one voice.
Northey gave high acclaims to BRR on their successes after the company reported their 3rd most profitable year since they opened for production in 2004.
Northey said ethanol was a risky business prior to the time Big River started their facility.
Farmers were hoping to see income from ethanol when their corn was selling at $2.75 or $3.00, he said.
But Big River Resources found not only ethanol, but many of its bi-products were more profitable than they even had hoped for.
This past year, corn reached over $7.00 and BRR was paying in the mid $6 range at the time of this meeting.
"Most of us never thought if you invested in an ethanol plant, you were going to get $6.00 corn, or that you were going to get a return on investment - the kind that you are getting right now."
Big River Resources success not only has benefited investors and BRR, but it has also greatly benefited the Agriculture community as a whole and other industries across this nation.
"I would say certainly, the future is very bright, I would say, much brighter than you realized it was 25 years ago."