Congressman Ron Kind says Wisconsin farmers could help turn the Upper Midwest into the next Middle East of energy.

Kind toured the ethanol plant near Boyceville Wednesday, which the President of Western Wisconsin Energy says should be ready to start production in September.

Kind also called for investments in new energy sources and using bio-fuels to their full potential, with financial incentives for those in the mix.

"People understand that the status quo is unacceptable, that this really is the wave of the future right here, and that potential really does exist right in our own communities," said Congressman Kind.

Some neighbors near Boyceville would rather see effort put toward making wind and solar energy more efficient, but they say there is too much political power and money behind ethanol to stop it.