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by Donnelle Eller (Des Moines Register) Angry over proposed ethanol changes, Iowa agriculture leaders warned Wednesday that President Donald Trump will lose rural voters next year unless he makes good on a deal to restore millions of gallons of lost renewable fuel demand.
“No more Iowa nice. Now, it’s Iowa pissed,” said Craig Floss, CEO of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, repeating the reaction he got from an Iowa farmer after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed changes Tuesday to the federal mandate, called the Renewable Fuel Standard.
…
On Tuesday, the EPA said it would account for waivers to the oil industry that frees them from using ethanol and biodiesel, based on an average of the gallons that the U.S. Department of Energy recommends exempting. But the Trump administration earlier this month told farm groups it would use an average of the actual number of renewable fuel gallons that have been waived, which is much larger.
…
“It was a promise made, and a promise broken,” said Grant Kimberley, executive director of the Iowa Biodiesel Board, which held a press conference Wednesday with the Iowa Corn Growers, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association and the Iowa Soybean Association.
…
- Oct. 15: Farm, renewable fuel groups angered by EPA plan to replace lost demand for ethanol, biodiesel
- Oct. 4: Iowa farmers welcome Trump decision, but question if it can reopen closed ethanol plants
- Oct. 4: Trump unveils new ethanol plan, short on details, that promises to replace exempted gallons
- Sept. 24: Another renewable fuel plant closes as Iowa leaders wait for White House biofuels fix
- Sept. 18: Kim Reynolds says ethanol meeting with Trump went ‘great,’ but ‘the devil’s in the details’
- Sept. 17: ‘I’ve been hoodwinked so many times’: Grassley wants Trump’s ethanol fix ‘on paper’ before he will support it
- Aug. 27: Kim Reynolds calls Trump ‘an advocate for farmers’ as she urges reversal of ethanol waivers
- Aug. 25: ‘A slap in the face’: Trump’s ethanol waivers are sparking rebellion in farm country
- June 12: Donald Trump touts ethanol victory in Iowa, but some leaders worry hardship waivers will undo gains
Since taking office, the Trump administration has granted 85 waivers to oil refineries, freeing them from using 4 billion gallons of renewable fuel. The exemptions have killed demand for 1.4 billion bushels of corn used to make ethanol, industry officials say.
The EPA proposal “would not restart a single” plant that’s been idled in Iowa and the U.S., Shaw said, adding that hundreds of investors in ethanol and biodiesel plants are farmers.
Nearly 30 U.S. ethanol and biodiesel plants have closed either temporarily or permanently because of the exemptions. Four are in Iowa. Dozens more have cut production.
…
Iowa’s farm economy has struggled in recent years, given large supplies of corn and soybeans, which have depressed prices. They were further lowered by the administration’s trade wars with China, Mexico, Canada and other countries, and now a decline in demand for corn-based ethanol and soybean-based biodiesel.
Dave Walton, who farms near Wilton, said the use of soybean oil to make biodiesel adds about 90 cents to the value of a bushel. Last year, Iowa grew nearly 565 million bushels of soybeans.
“This is a huge financial issue for us,” Walton said.
“Our ire is aimed at EPA and Wheeler right now … but the buck stops with the president,” said Walton, who adds Trump risks losing his support over his biofuels plan.
“If he doesn’t fix this, my support will go away,” he said. READ MORE includes VIDEO
Senator Lankford Disappointed with RFS Mandates: Lankford believes RFS should be repealed or reformed, not increased (Office of Senator James Lankford (R-OK))
Iowa farmers blame Trump for biofuels rule they view as betrayal (WQAD)
Farmers say biofuels proposal reneges on deal with Trump (Arkansas Democrat Gazette/Associated Press)
IOWA AG LEADERS RESPOND TO EPA’S BIOFUELS PROPOSAL (Brownfield Ag News)
Ethanol Report on RFA Reaction to EPA Proposal (Energy.AgWired.com; includes AUDIO)
Iowa Biofuel Leaders React to ‘Disappointing’ EPA Proposal (WHOTV includes VIDEO)
Iowa farmers blast Trump’s dealmaking after EPA biofuel plan (Bloomberg/Grand Forks Herald)
Farmers blame Trump for biofuels rule they view as betrayal (Associated Press)
Trump Remarks Seem to Contradict EPA Plan (Energy.AgWired.com; includes AUDIO)
US biofuel makers say EPA deal does not fully account for refinery waivers (S&P Global Platts)
Lawmakers, groups slam EPA ethanol plan (E&E Daily)
Ethanol Groups Say EPA Proposal Contradicts White House Deal (Iowa Public Radio)
Trump Expected to Stand Behind RFS Deal: Agriculture, Biofuels Groups on Briefing Call Say EPA Not Following RFS Deal (DTN Progressive Farmer)
Nebraska leaders react to proposed RFS rule from EPA (NTV)
Wisconsin Farmers, Ethanol Producers Say EPA Proposal Won’t Ensure Needed Demand — Producers Say Latest Ethanol Proposal Falls Short In Making Up For More Refinery Exemptions (Wisconsin Public Radio)
EPA’s proposed RFS small refinery measures under fire (Ohio’s Country Journal)
EPA ethanol ruling falls short for corn farmers (AgDaily)
ETHANOL PRODUCER QUESTIONS IF TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SHARES MIDWEST CONCERNS (Brownfield Ag News)
President’s biofuel policy is under fire (American Press)
Commentary: More ethanol means higher prices — and not just for gasoline (Bozeman Daily Chronicle/Heritage Foundation)
Excerpts from The Hill: But farm and ethanol groups say the additional details released Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were never part of the package they discussed with the White House.
The fine print: The formula proposed by the agency for determining how many gallons other refineries would have to blend into their fuels would be based on an average of government projections rather than the actual number of gallons small refineries received waivers for.
Reaction: “We’re being told that we’ll trust that the EPA will treat you better in the future when they’re the very agency that has caused the crisis and the economic hardships we see today. I’m sorry, but we don’t need to,” said Monte Shaw with the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.
“We had a deal with the president. We stand by that deal with the president. And today we’re calling on the president to step in and get the EPA back online. Don’t let the EPA undermine your policy once again, Mr. President.
“You don’t have to be good at math. You don’t have to be a [renewable fuel standard] policy expert … doesn’t it just make common sense that if you’re going to try to account for something that you should, I don’t know, base it on the real numbers?” Shaw said.
EPA push back: The EPA said their announcement did not depart from what was negotiated by the White House.
“This proposal, which EPA will be taking comment for 30 days following the public hearing slated for October 30, is the text of the agreement negotiated by President Trump, USDA and EPA that was announced on October 4,” EPA spokesman Michael Abboud said to The Hill by email.
More on the criticism from farmers here.
And there are signs the proposal might already be losing political support…
DISAPPEARING ACT: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) removed positive quotes from Iowa’s two senators from a release with the latest details on its plan to boost ethanol use — a proposal that is now being opposed by Iowa corn growers and ethanol producers.
…
When the EPA made its announcement Tuesday, it included past praise for the ethanol policy from when it was first announced in early October, a detail the agency noted.
But the online version of that press release has since been changed to remove quotes from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).
“That quote was for the announcement on Oct. 4,” Michael Zona, a spokesman for Grassley through the Senate Finance Committee said by email before referring further questions to the EPA.
The EPA did not immediately respond to questions about why the quotes from Iowa’s senators were removed from the latest announcement, nor did Ernst’s office respond to request for comment.
In early October, Grassley praised President Trump for delivering a good deal for farmers.
“These are promises made and promises kept by President Trump. President Trump has made clear that he is an ally of corn and soybean farmers as well as ethanol and biodiesel producers. He is fighting for the farmer. This announcement is great news for Iowa, the Midwest and the entire country,” Grassley said on Oct. 4.
Grassley’s team sent a new comment on the EPA’s latest proposal Wednesday morning, saying the EPA would need to ensure biofuels actually get blended into traditional fuels if farmers are to be happy with any proposal
Proposed Volumes for 2020 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2021: Supplemental Notice COMMENT DEADLINE: November 29, 2019
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) On October 15, 2019, EPA issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking seeking additional comment on the recently