The National Ethanol Conference officially kicks off today in Orlando with the annual golf tournament and welcome reception in preparation for the main event tomorrow featuring a full day of presentations and panels focused on the theme “Ethanol Unleashed.”

The Renewable Fuels Association set the tone for the conference today releasing the latest analysis of ethanol’s impact on the U.S. economy, showing record-setting production and exports supported 79,000 U.S. jobs, along with an additional 237,000 indirect and induced jobs across all sectors of the economy.

The industry created $28 billion in household income, contributed $50 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product, and generated nearly $10 billion in tax revenues at the federal, state and local levels. The report also calculates that the industry spent $24 billion on 5.5 billion bushels of corn and grain sorghum alone, as the industry continued to support America’s farming communities.

For the first time in recent memory, the NEC is being held at the same time as Commodity Classic, which officially starts tomorrow but is already holding pre-conference events in San Antonio. The annual conference of the American Soybean Association and National Corn Growers Association in conjunction with the National Association of Wheat Growers, National Sorghum Producers, and Association of Equipment Manufacturers, is celebrating 30 years this year.

RFA Senior VP, Industry Relations & Market Development, Robert White will be attending both events, heading from Orlando to San Antonio to host an RFA reception and exhibit at the massive Classic trade show. The RFA exhibit will include a 2025 Chevy 2500HD pickup that was converted to flex fuel using a simple conversion kit. That will be after White moderates the first panel at NEC tomorrow morning on E15 in California.

The need for nationwide, year-round E15 will be a major topic of discussion at both conferences, with EPA and USDA officials slated to speak.