Alva Review-Courier -

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — When he learned about the first ethanol pump opening up in Milbank, Orrie Swayze hopped off his tractor, drove his 1974 Ford to the station and filled its tank with fuel made mostly from corn.

"It ran as good or better on straight E85," Swayze said.

Swayze, now 73 and retired, has been an advocate ever since for corn-based fuel. Ethanol came to the rescue of growers like Swayze, injecting a new value into crops, driving prices higher and boosting the state's economy. Much of the industry's expansion since the 1990s depended on federal policies, including new rules to e...