HELENA — If he's elected governor, Democratic Brian Schweitzer said Thursday he will make sure the 2005 Legislature passes a bill killed last year that would have required all fuel sold in Montana to contain 10 percent ethanol.

Ethanol production in Montana could add up to $1 billion annually to Montana's agricultural economy, he said at a press conference at his farm and ranch near Whitefish. Each 40-million gallon ethanol plant could create 40 good-paying jobs, he said, plus provide a big boost for grain producers by creating an in-state market for their grain. ‘‘It's time we be self-sufficient,'' Schweitzer said. ‘‘We now pay $2 a gallon for gasoline and are sending our young people to the Middle East. We need to decrease our dependency on foreign oil.''

Ethanol is made by fermenting and distilling simple sugars and is produced from crops such as wheat and corn, the Web site for the American Coalition for Ethanol said. Thirty percent of all gasoline consumed nationally is blended with ethanol, with the most common mix being 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol.

If elected, Schweitzer said he would push strongly for passage of the bill sponsored by Republican Sens. Jerry Black of Shelby and Sam Kitzenberg of Glasgow last year. Although the Senate passed it, the bill died in the House with the oil and gas industry opposed to it, he said.

If it stalls in the Legislature again next year, Schweitzer said he will spend time during the mid-session break to travel with Black to those farm communities whose legislators oppose the measure.

‘‘If they're not supporting the bill, we'll name names,'' Schweitzer said.

Naming some names on Thursday, Schweitzer said his running mate, Sen. John Bohlinger, R-Billings, voted for the bill, while Rep. Dave Lewis, R-Helena, running mate to Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Brown, opposed it.

In a statement, Brown said: ‘‘It is an opportunity to promote value added development to Montana's agricultural economy and it is increasingly important to our national security,'' Brown said. ‘‘Senator Black promoted a bold idea in the last legislative session to promote development of alternative energy, and I commend him for his effort.''

Schweitzer said the Black bill would have no cost to Montanans, but it is dependent on the continued federal subsidy of 54 cents per gallon. Black's bill was based on the law in Minnesota, which is the only state requiring all fuel to contain ethanol.

‘‘Ethanol not only adds value to the grain,'' Schweitzer said. ‘‘The real value beyond grain is cattle. We have 2.5 million mother cows in Montana. Their calves are branded and sent out to grass. Then they're weaned. They're sent to feedlots in other states and provinces (at 600 pounds).''

Few cattle are actually ‘‘finished'' here and grow to 1,200 or 1,300 pounds and are ready for slaughter, he said. Some are allowed to grow to up to 850 pounds and are shipped to feedlots in other states with cheap protein feed from ethanol production.

Two-thirds of a kernel of wheat is used to produce the fuel, while one-third is used as high-protein, high-quality animal feed the consistency of oatmeal, Schweitzer said. With this animal feed a byproduct of ethanol production, Montana could attract a large number of feedlots, followed by meatpacking plants built next to them, he said.

‘‘It adds value to grain, no question,'' Schweitzer said. ‘‘It adds value to our meat and jobs fattening cattle. We would export $6-a-pound T-bone steaks, not 90-cent-per pound calves.''

Montanans now don't know if the steak they ate last night ‘‘came from Calgary, Conrad or Mexico,'' he said. ‘‘Local feedlots and meatpacking plants will give us a chance to label our world-famous Montana beef and sell it around the globe.''

At the press conference, Schweitzer fed his cattle distillers grain that's a byproduct from Black Star Brewing Co. in Whitefish. He called it ‘‘a wonderful feed.''

30