Jeff Briggs, Green Plains Chief Operating Officer

Hearing in the Heartland Testimony J une 2 5 , 201 5

Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to be here today.

I am Jeff Briggs, Chief Operating O fficer for Green Plains Inc

.

Green Plains began with our first 50 million gallon ethanol plant that began production in August of 2007 in Shenandoah

, Iowa. Since then, Green Plains has grown to 12 ethanol plants in 6 states with o ver 850 employees

In addition:

 We have become the 3rd largest consolidated owner of ethanol production assets in North America with over 1 billion gallons of ethanol production capacity

.

 We process 10 million tons of corn, which is 2 times mo r e corn than China imports from the USA

.

 We p roduce 3 million tons of liv estock feed and 2 5 0 million pounds of

corn oil for feed and biodiesel.

 We g enerate over $3 billion in revenues and have been profitable the

last 6 years

.

A growing and predictable biofuels market has been a driver in enhancing our ethanol assets, and has allowed us to make in vestments in other businesses, like our cattle feedlot in Kismet, Kansas.

We continue to invest in our plants to make them run more effi cient, using less to get more

, l ike Selective Milling T echnology that improves the amount

of ethanol we produce out of each bushel of corn

, and corn oil extraction technology that creates another product and income stream for us.

The RFS should be used as the vehicle for higher ethanol blends in the U.S.

. It has been the most successful energy legislation this country has had. It has reduced our dependence on foreign oil, cleaned the air we breathe

, created jobs across rural America and created a strong secondary market for farmersto sell their corn

. More ethanol into our fuel supply is a posit ive for not just

the Midwest but the U.S.

As an industry, we have successfully introduced higher blends into the market place, proving that there is no “blend wall.” E15 is growing in availability to drivers on the road today and more auto manufacturers are certifying E15 for

use in their new models. More and more retailers like Kum & Go, Mapco and

Sheet z , Cenex, Murphy and Min noco
, have committed to providing their consumers with the opportunity to choose which blend of fuel works best for them. Moving to E15 means more jobs here at home, more octane in your gas

tank

, an even clearer burning fuel, and more importantly giving consumer s the right to choose.

I would ask how does a country like Brazil, where they drive the same Fords, Chevys and Toyotas we do here, blend 27 % ethanol in their motor fuel and have for over a decade and the U.S. cannot get past 10%? The answer is Big

Oil’s death grip on U.S. consumer.

Don’t undermine our ability to invest in domestic fuel alternatives that are a catalyst to our economy. Don’t deprive consumers of choices at the pump by ceding market share to Big Oil. The real mandate in this country is th e 90% petroleum fuel mandate in the U

. S

. that the oil industry has in place and will stop at nothing to protect. Efforts to replace fossil fuels with domestic renewable fuels will continue to benefit the economy, environment and public

health.

At Gree n Plains, w e want to continue to invest in jobs; technology and value added processing of cleaner burning, renewable fuels. It’s important to use

those fuels domestic ally as intended by the 2007 RFS and important to allocate capital in a market that is gro wth oriented and predictable.

We stand ready to make additional investments in biofuel product ion and technology; we stand ready to support biofuel infrastructure growth through market development partnerships with private and public partners who

support the fuel choices among consumers. Those choices are readily

available if the RFS is maintained.

On behalf of Green Plains and myself, I want to thank you again for the opportunity to express support for the RFS.