According to the RFA, the United States fuel ethanol industry has experienced rapid growth of production, increasing from 1.3 billion gallons produced in 1997 to 3.9 billion gallons produced in 2005. Ethanol is marketed as an oxygenate to reduce vehicle emissions as part of federal and state clean air programs, as an octane enhancer to improve engine performance and as a fuel extender to extend the volume of gasoline. As such, the demand for ethanol has historically been driven by the demand for gasoline and ethanol’s inclusion as a gasoline additive. The United States Department of Energy, or DOE, estimates that gasoline consumption will increase from the current 9.3 million barrels per day to over 13.3 million barrels per day by 2025.

Ethanol increases the octane rating of gasoline with which it is blended, improving engine performance. Pure ethanol has an average octane rating of 113, while standard reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygen blending, or RBOB, has an octane rating of 83.7. As such, ethanol is used by gasoline suppliers as an octane enhancer both for producing regular grade gasoline from lower octane blending stocks and for upgrading regular gasoline to premium grades.

According to the Energy Information Administration or EIA, the number of operable U.S. petroleum refineries has decreased from 319 in 1980 to 148 in 2005. Also according to the EIA, while domestic refining capacity has decreased approximately 5% from 1980 to 2005, domestic demand has increased 21% over the same period. The EIA expects growth in refining capacity to average 1.3% per year until 2025, with demand for refined petroleum products growing at 1.5% per year over the same period. Because ethanol is blended with gasoline after the refining process, it directly increases domestic fuel capacity.

The first three plants are strategically located on the western and eastern edges of the Corn Belt of the United States in Linden, Indiana, Albion, Nebraska, and Bloomingburg, Ohio and are adjacent to grain sites owned and operated by Cargill. The Linden and Bloomingburg plants are expected to be two of the closest ethanol plants to the high-demand East Coast ethanol markets, while the Albion plant is expected to be one of the largest ethanol plants serving the West Coast ethanol markets.

The Linden facility will be located on the eastern edge of the Corn Belt in Montgomery County in Linden, Indiana, approximately 59 miles northwest of Indianapolis, Indiana. Within a 50 mile radius of the Linden plant, approximately 287 million bushels of corn were produced in the 2004 - 2005 crop year, which runs from October 1 to September 30. The Linden plant will compete for local corn with ethanol plants currently under construction in Marion, Indiana; Rensselaer, Indiana; South Bend, Indiana; Clymers, Indiana (all located within 70 miles of the Linden plant).

The Albion facility will be located on the western edge of the Corn Belt near Albion, Nebraska, approximately 125 miles northwest of Lincoln, Nebraska. The Albion plant is strategically located among the most dense corn production in the United States and near one of the world’s largest rechargeable groundwater reservoirs, providing a source of irrigation for corn during dry weather, which, in turn, provides for stable corn prices relative to other corn producing states.

The Bloomingburg facility will be located on the eastern edge of the Corn Belt in Bloomingburg, Ohio, approximately 38 miles southwest of Columbus, Ohio. Within a 50 mile radius of the Bloomingburg plant, approximately 127 million bushels of corn were produced in the 2004 - 2005 crop year.

Interest expense was approximately $1.2 million for six months ended June 30, 2006.

Interest income was approximately $0.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2006.