BOTTINEAU, N.D. – Last week many North Dakotans were fuming over the portrayal of their state in the latest issue of National Geographic magazine.
An article entitled The Emptied Prairie, featuring melancholy photos of abandoned farmhouses and cars rusting away in wind-swept, weed-bound fields, was vehemently denounced in an editorial by the Minot Daily News for presenting an overly gloomy view of the state.
While admitting that depopulation of rural areas continues to be a vexing problem, the paper bristled at descriptions of crumbling buildings and congregations burning their own churches “to end the pain” when the number of churchgoers dwindles.
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When asked, governor John Hoeven just shook his head. In his opinion, the fortunes of his state, population 600,000, have never been brighter.
“It was a terrible story. It was just stupid,” said Hoeven, who has held the state’s top office since 2000.
In a speech on the sidelines of the 16th annual International Seed and Ag Show, held at Bottineau, N.D., Hoeven cited the state’s economic gains achieved in recent years, mainly from increased oil and gas revenues and a massive increase in ethanol production.
Hoeven described his administration’s strategy as “doing new things in new ways and getting results” through a five-pronged approach that targets the state’s strengths of value-added agriculture, advanced manufacturing, technology, energy and tourism.
He said the state’s gross domestic product has grown by almost 50 percent since 2000.
“We’ve gone from less than $18 billion to over $26 billion a year,” he said, adding that wages and per capita income have grown faster than the national average.
In that time, some 25,000 new jobs have been added to the state’s economy, and 7,000 people to North Dakota’s population.
“Right now in this state there are 10,000 job openings unfilled,” he added. “So a young person can start out in North Dakota and have a career here.”
With agriculture serving as the backbone of the economy, Hoeven said that he was excited about opportunities in the sector.
“Five years ago, we had two small ethanol plants, and no biodiesel or wind energy production. Today, with the plants we have built and are in production, we will produce half a billion gallons of ethanol a year. That’s more than all the gas we consume in total.”
Biodiesel production stands at 85 million gallons a year, he added. Wind power in the state will soon amount to 900 megawatts, enough to power 250,000 homes, or almost every home in the state.
“We will continue to grow those energy sources because that is how we create jobs in North Dakota. We will export energy to the rest of the country to help meet the nation’s needs and create jobs and opportunities for our own state.”
The renewable energy programs are driven by generous subsidies including production, finance, marketing and tax incentives, which Hoeven hoped would continue under the next federal farm bill.
Biofuel has come under increasing fire from critics, who cite food-versus-fuel concerns and assert that the environmental benefits are overstated.
In its defence, Hoeven said that because the United States is dependent on imports from Canada, Mexico, Venezuela and the Middle East for most of its petroleum needs, it has chosen to aggressively pursue alternative sources of energy in the form of biofuel for national security reasons.
“People want a stable, lower cost supply of energy. We’re at risk because we import 60 percent of our energy, so we want to develop alternative fuels.
“In addition to environmental advantages, renewable fuels have tremendous advantages for our farm and rural economy. And I think that long term it is going to reduce the cost of energy for the consumer. Right now, ethanol is $2 a gallon and gasoline is $3.”
