Fans of the NCAA basketball tournament know that every year a few small schools upset the big guys. The Iowa Hawkeyes were victims this year. How do these small schools succeed? They focus on doing one thing, such as pressure defense or three-point shooting, and exploit that advantage.

The state of Iowa is in a similar tournament, competing against larger states and even other countries. Each has its talents, but the team that focuses on its strengths will triumph over the rest.

Our strength is in adding value to our agriculture. Using a combination of fertile ground, hard work and biotechnology, Iowa is the leading producer of corn, soybeans, ethanol, pork and biomass. Soon we will be the largest producer of biodiesel as well. We should build on this groundwork, grow the bioeconomy and knock out our competitors.

Currently, Iowa dominates the ethanol industry. Our state is responsible for about a third of total U.S. production. All of this ethanol is produced from corn kernels, and new ethanol plants are popping up like weeds. These plants are producing fantastic returns for investors, and it would be tremendously beneficial for the state if those investors would adopt an entrepreneurial mindset. Reinvesting the profits in new local technologies could boost Iowa from its rank as the 48th best (or third worst) state for venture capital. An Australian firm recently invested $100 million in an ethanol plant in Northern Iowa, proving that if we don’t invest in the bioeconomy, foreigners will.

The biorefinery is an extension of our strengths and will be a fine example of value-added agriculture, which is a natural fit for our state for many reasons. First, we’re good at it. We have productive farmers and knowledgeable workers and have developed infrastructure needed to move massive amounts of feedstock and product. Second, these jobs are permanent. It will never be cheaper to manufacture these products in a foreign country using cheap labor, so these jobs will stay in Iowa. This could help reverse the “brain drain” by providing high-quality, high-paying jobs. Third, we will keep wealth local and increase our tax base. Farmers and other local residents are the typical investors in ethanol plants, and they have profited handsomely from their investment. The same should be true of the biorefinery. Our state also will increase its tax base by processing the feedstock here using local businesses, rather than just selling the fruits (or vegetables) of our labor once.

Finally, we could shift from a production economy to a knowledge economy. By creating knowledge that can be used to transform crops into fuels, we can profit from both the product and the process. The knowledge economy will allow us to sell what we know AND what we produce all over the world.

So who is working to make this happen here? BIOWA is a trade association for producers of biobased products with 59 members, with headquarters in Iowa City. Biobased products replace oil-based products — ethanol replaces gasoline, biodiesel replaces diesel and soy insulation replaces chemical insulation. All of these biobased products are better in some way than their oil-based counterparts, whether they are more durable, more efficient or more environmentally friendly. Some are not cost-competitive with oil-based products, so BIOWA works to increase the efficiency of production, bring new investments in and create partnerships among visionaries. If our team wants to pull an upset in the hypercompetitive global economy, we need to exploit our talents and do what we do best.

Michael Ott is the executive director of BIOWA. Learn more at www.biowa.us or send an e-mail to biowa.us@gmail.com