Grassley: Any Legislation with Ad Hoc Payments to Farmers Should Include Year-Round, Nationwide E15

(Office of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)) Floor Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa; Senate President Pro Tempore, “The Agricultural Economy: Year-Round, Nationwide E15” -- So again, for the third time this week, I want to talk about the agricultural situation.

This week, I’ve been talking much about the dire situation in real America where corn farmers are facing the worst corn to fertilizer ratios in American history.

You may not have heard about those ratios. Probably, that’s something that’s been developed within the last two decades, but ... it’s the worst ever.

And I mention the real America because we that are serving here in Washington, D.C., work in an island surrounded by reality. And I want to make sure that the entire country knows what’s going on in fly-over country.

Last Congress, that would be in December of last year, [Congress] passed $10 billion in ad hoc appropriations for crop farmers to weather the economic storm.

While this helped some farmers get through one more year, the economic situation on the family farm has only gotten worse.

Any farmer will tell you that they want to sell into the market and not harvest government checks.

Although those checks may be necessary again this year, we need to address the root cause of this issue by giving farmers more markets.

So, one very important decision that Congress could make is to have permanent year-round, nationwide E15.

And, that would do just that, giving farmers more markets – particularly for corn.

Now, people would say, “Well, you better wake up,” because we’ve had nationwide, year-round markets for six years through presidential waiver.

And you need that certainty because it’s going to take a lot of investment of infrastructure at retailers selling gasoline to invest in the equipment that it takes to have E15 nationwide.

Some retailers are already doing that, but not enough to have all the sales from E15 that we could have.

Now, according to research, E15 would add $25.8 billion to the U.S. economy, and $13.8 billion would be from corn demand.

Of course, ethanol production helps keep good jobs in rural communities – 43,000 jobs in Iowa alone.

Not only would it create markets for farmers, but Congress could pass year-round E15 and save – actually save – $3 to $4 billion for the American taxpayer.

That’s a win-win for the real America, and it would be a real win for where we work here in Washington, D.C. – that island surrounded by reality.

Any legislation with ad hoc payments to farmers should include allowing year-round, nationwide E15.

[It would] bring certainty to the market [and] get that investment in infrastructure that’s so very, very important to get the most massive benefits out of E15 year-round.

These ad hoc payments are nothing but a band-aid. We’ve got to stop what’s causing the bleeding. READ MORE; includes VIDEO

Excerpt from Harvest Public Media/Northern Public Radio: Even as President Trump promises a bailout will be coming to farmers soon, growers face an uncertain future.

A survey of 1,034 farmers released in September by the National Corn Growers Association showed that nearly half believe the U.S. economy is on the brink of a farm crisis, and two-thirds were more concerned about their farm’s finances than a year ago.

China, which purchased about half of all U.S. soybean exports last year, stopped buying U.S. soybeans in May in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs.

While trade tensions could potentially restrict corn exports, the effects of tariffs go beyond exports, said Brenda Gudex, executive director of the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board.

“They're affecting us as corn growers on the inputted cost that we have,” she said. “Our fertilizers are being imported, so we have a huge uncertainty there.”

Rising costs

Like households nationwide, farmers have been hit hard by inflation. Since 2020, labor costs are up 47%, fertilizer 37%, fuel and oil 32%, and seed 18%, according to the USDA. READ MORE