Two of the top ten news stories of 2005, according to the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB), were related to energy and domestic fuel. Farm broadcasters voted high energy costs as the top news story of the year, and passage of the Energy Bill number four.
4. Congress passes comprehensive energy bill with Renewable Fuels Standard . After years of unsuccessful efforts, Congress finally passed an energy bill in July that included a 7.5-billion gallon Renewable Fuels Standard, or RFS, to be implemented in stages between 2006 and 2012. The inclusion of the RFS was a major victory for the U.S. ethanol industry. But, ironically, high energy costs have driven ethanol demand more than prospects of a government mandate.
Here’s the full list:

NAFB’s Top-10 Stories of the Year for 2005:

1. Energy costs spike and squeeze producer profitability.
2. Hurricane Katrina devastates Southern agriculture and snarls the U.S grain transportation system.
3. U.S. Supreme Court finds checkoffs constitutional.
4. Congress passes comprehensive energy bill with Renewable Fuels Standard.
5. Japan re-opens market to U.S beef.
6. Asian Soybean Rust has no impact on U.S. soybean production in 2005.
7. U.S. Senate Confirms Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
8. U.S. re-opens border to Canadian live cattle.
9. U.S Ag Secretary Mike Johanns holds dozens of farm bill listening sessions in partnership with NAFB.
10. U.S. corn crop is second largest ever as Midwest drought is less severe than thought.