The commodity is plentiful in the Farm Belt, which has promoted ethanol as a cleaner fuel for years.

But ADM has not lost interest in promoting ethanol among farm organizations, politicians and the news media.

Mr. Dole has promoted ethanol since 1970 when he urged President Nixon to study grain-based fuels to help fight pollution.

The National Farmers' Organization has conducted regular "legislative fly-ins" to bring farmers from 30 states to Capitol Hill to promote ethanol and other agricultural issues.

And for all the recent ads promoting ethanol from automakers like General Motors, it was nowhere to be found.

"It's a mistake to promote just ethanol," he said.

Brazil, the world's largest sugar producer, was once the leader in promoting ethanol, a cleaner-burning fuel that can be made from sugar or corn.

And these energy inputs come almost entirely from fossil fuels, so it's not clear whether promoting ethanol does anything to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Mr. LaNeve said he met with other G.M. marketing executives on Monday to discuss ways to begin promoting ethanol.

The officials argued that the effort to promote ethanol came at the expense of the oil companies.