Right now, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels' approval rating is in the dumper.

That's because lots of people disagree with things he's done.

The daylight-saving time issue was highly derisive. Basically, he angered just about half of Indiana with that one.

On top of that, he got blamed for the division created by the Central/Eastern time zone debate.

That angered more people, regardless of their take on DST.

Then there was the closing of a dozen or so bureau of motor vehicles branches.

That didn't make anybody real happy.

More recently, Daniels raised the ire of 60 percent of Indiana residents - according to a recent Indianapolis Star poll - with his plan to lease the Indiana Toll Road.

Lots of people are against that, even though the infusion of $3.8 billion in cash would be a big boost economically because of all the resultant road construction.

As for his approval, it's sitting at 37 percent, not too much different than W's.

The thing that's kind of weird is that Daniels - whether you agree or disagree with him - has not been disingenuous. He's pretty much done exactly what he said he would do.

And quickly.

Maybe that's part of the problem. He's doing too much too fast.

I think we Hoosiers tend to like to take things a little slower. Even with regard to the toll road issue, I think some people think it was just too much of a rush job.

Let's sit back and take a look at this for awhile before we flip the switch on the deal.

Having mentioned all that, let me get to the point of all this.

I think you have to give Daniels and Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman proper credit when it comes to the issue of economic development in general, and specifically as it relates to biofuels.

Their record there is quite impressive and it is a total win-win for our state.

This week's announcement that Louis Dreyfus will build the world's largest biodiesel plant near Claypool was a real boost for our county and our state.

Since the beginning of 2005, they have been able to attract five ethanol plants and three biodiesel plants.

A total of 375 new jobs will be created, there will be $600 million dollars of capital expenditures and more than $80 million in taxes will be paid.

And Skillman says there are 10 other projects in the hopper.

So you see what's happening here.

What Daniels and company have been able to do is get ahead of the curve on this technology.

They are making Indiana the place to be when it comes to biofuel production.

Let's be honest, there are a bunch of other midwest states that would have been equally suited for these plants.

But Indiana got in the game early and it's paying off. And it will continue to pay off.

Just as Warsaw can claim to be the orthopedic capital of the world, Indiana will be able to call itself the biofuels capital of the world.

Down the road, this will only work to attract more plants like Dreyfus and more related and spin-off industries.

And the beauty of it is that this whole idea of turning grains into fuel is an emerging technology.

In the future, there will only be increasing demand for biofuels as we attempt to wean ourselves off petroleum-based fuels.

And, stating the obvious, what a great new market they are creating for Indiana's farmers.

While you may not agree with all of Daniels' policies, you have to give him a pat on the back for this biofuels stuff. [[In-content Ad]]