Alcohol—New Energy Source?

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COlfHT HIHJSE When 'Uiisnhnl hecnmcK available lnr I he lirsl lime in (.'ape May ( minty nexl month here and at other service stations o|H*rated by IIk* I.^S Kinums Oil Co., it will represent the end result ol a major commitment on the part ol a South Jersey business and the beginning hn|iclully ol a new era lor

all consumers.

It was a lot ol risk, but I think it was something whose tifnc has come." said Same OeVico. a Higgins vice president and iliemlier ol the Vineland Imsod cointKiny s board of (lireelors ‘ Not because thd produel is lietter in itself - and it is that but. it's a way that the American public can say to the oil sheiks and the rest of it: Now wait a minute, we don't have to have your nil We can use American corn and American wheat and American sugar beets to make our aleohol to run our

vehicles '

"And we certainly can do thill." I)e\'icO continued in .1 county Herald interview •There are so many good aspects ol this \ .MA.Kilt distributor ol home heating oil in this area. Kiggias oil is also the operator ol some 70 service stations Irom Trenton south, primarily Phillips (Mi. but also a number ol unhrauded stations It was in seven Higginsoixunlcd stations in neigh-

iHirmg (Cumberland County Iasi week where the first gasohol in South Jersey boRan flowing. Mr DeVico. who is also the longtime mayorol Middle Township, attributes the availability ol this gasoline blend to the combined efforts of l^iren Higgins, head ol Higgins Oil. and Congressman Hill

Hughes

"No one had been filling to put up lltelunds arid take the initiative." Mr DeVico said in a telephone interview. "Hut Congressman Hughes did take the miative along with Loren Higgins, and both of them are apparently pushing this thing to tire hilt The congressman is obviously interested in trying to keep product flowing so we do keep our economy going, and lioren is interested in trying to develop it for the gnodol thecompbnv." I.OKF.N HHUilNS is Mr DeVico's brother in law, but the impression one gets Irom listening to Mr DeVico's talk about the potential ol gasohol and alcohol as an energy source is that Ills enthusiasm goes lieyond tamily ties It s a philosphy in practice "Itascially what you're seeing now is Americans Congress and business IH'ople and the farmers working together to find a solution lor our shortcoming in petroleum

product

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HERE'S WHERE gasohol will make Us Jersey Cape debut. ‘Corn Oil’ Could Take On New Meaning

WASHINGTON - South Jersey might be able to help out in the growing energy crisis by helping to grow an energy product. Congressman Bill Hughes has suggested. Pointing out recently that South Jersey has abundant farmland, the Ocean City Congressman indicated there is great potential in the area for the development of gasohol manufacturing facilities. "We should not only be concerned about the

consumption of gasohol. but we should also explore the possibilities of locating ethyl alcohol manufac-» luring facilities in our region." A LEADING public of-' ficial in the push foi*' alternate energy sources. 1 Hughes made his statements about the gasohol manufacturing potential of South Jersey in a press release in advance of ribbon-cutting ceremonies last Wednesday in Melville,

Bridgeton and Vineland at the first service stations in Soli h Jersey to offer the gasoline and alcohol blend 11(0 Congressman, who recently authorized an arm ndment requiring the * Department of Defense to use alcohol fuels in place of gas'dine wherever feasible, had some dramatic Statements to make concerning the gasoline ex-

tender

"The use of gasohol in our automobiles is tani Page:»Please >

Preserving Farmlandr-Who Cares?

TUCKAHOE - The State of New Jersey appears to be more interested in preserving farmland than Jersey Cape farmers, according to the president of the Cape May County Board of Agriculture.

"Generally, the state would much rather see it preserved than we would." said George W. Betts of Petersburg, newly elected president of the County board. According to Mr. Betts.

farmers and major landholders in the county like the idea — the security of knowing — that they could sell their land for upwards of $4,000 an acre or more for development. "I wouldn't say

anybody's bubbling over that that's what they'd like to see." the county farm board head said of state proposals to preserve farmland and open space perse. In a telephone interview, from the family's turf business in Tuckahoe. Mr. Betts explained that most

lor g as it's worthwhile to doit." Mr Betts explained the farmer's viewpoint that increasing government regulation of farm operations — restrictions or, |>esticide use. Pinelands regulations, outbacks in fertilizers because of nitrate pollution — are

"For the purposes of the Cape May County Master Plan, one objective will be the preservation of approximately 30,000 acres of farmland or upland which could be farmed in the future, in addition to promoting a general policy which would support farming at the local, state and county level. " — County Planniag Board, I97<>

HORSE FARM in Cold Spring, less than two miles from downtown Cape May.

farmers don't come our and say they're against government- sanctioned farmland preservation "Most of them hedge because they hate to be against it." he said. "We'd like to see jt stay farms, but we'd like to get our fair share." he opined "We'll keep it farir.s as

making farming more and more costly When it comes to government Intervention in land use. most farmers in Cape May County are "looking for a trade-off rather than a pay-off." according to Mr Betts While there's a > Page 3 Please i

Fuel From - The Fields Only Maybe The congressman has suggested it. A major South Jersey distributor thinks it’s possible But the head of the county hoard of agriculture doesn’t see gasohol. and its alcohol component, as a major pMtential market for Jersey Cape farm products Congressman Bill Hughes iviews the wide open spaces of South Jersey as perhaps an ideal location for an alcohol distillery; or, at the very least, a place to grow the raw material for the touted "new" energy source Sam DeVico. vice president of the LS Higgins Oil Company, doesn't see the present use anfl need for alcohol great enough to interest business into setting up a distillery, but down the mad when, fie hopes. 50 or MX) per cen(alcohol will be used as motor vehicle fuel' — maybe it would be economically; feasible to locate an alcohol manufacturing plant in South Jersey As far as growing the raw material for alcohol. Mr Devico sees a different picture "Yes. that is quit? possible." he said of the potential (or farming alcohol's b«*e material "That's going to be possible throughout the entire country because what you'll be seeing then is all the farmers that have land in the Soil Bank Program and that sort of thing willing to start producing again. " George W. Betts of Petersburg, newly elected president of the Cape May County Board of Agriculture, doesn't see sucha rosy future "Basically," he explained Monday, "any kind of -dlain crop is a lowincome per acre crop, and with land values and the cost of renting ground what they are, I don't think that would be practical " According to Mr Betts, large acreage is needed for ' low income crops such as

corn

"You have to get a highincome per acre crop to survive.” he said, "like lima beans, sod or fresh vegetables " Crops like soy beans, he explained, provided a good "fill-in" crop for county farmers when other, higher • Page 3 Please)