RFA Provides USDA a Roadmap to Renewable Fuel Growth

(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association this week responded to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s request for comment on its Agriculture Innovation Agenda (AIA). Regarding renewable fuels, the agenda calls for Increased biofuel feedstock production and biofuel production efficiency and competitiveness to achieve market-driven blend rates of E15 in 2030 and E30 in 2050.

“Not only will the AIA initiative’s Renewable Energy benchmarks, if achieved, stimulate long-term economic growth in rural America, they will also enhance sustainability, improve environmental quality, and provide lower costs and greater consumer choice at the pump,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “The AIA’s Renewable Energy goals are proactive and ambitious, and the USDA should be applauded for undertaking such a forward-looking initiative that provides clear benefits to American consumers.”

In addition, the association identified several roadblocks that need to be addressed by the federal government. This includes providing RVP (Reid Vapor Pressure) parity for all ethanol blends, removing or significantly revising E15 fuel survey requirements and labeling requirements, revising EPA’s outdated lifecycle greenhouse gas analysis of corn ethanol, and eliminating unnecessary registration and pathway certification barriers to cellulosic ethanol production from corn kernel fiber.

“RFA has worked had to build a bold, sustainability-driven vision for the future of agriculture and transportation, and through our membership, we have positioned ourselves to lead that effort as advocates,” Cooper said. “On behalf of the nation’s ethanol producers, we are fully committed to collaborating with USDA to sustainably increase the production and availability of renewable fuels to achieve nationwide average blend rates of E15 in 2030 and E30 in 2050.” READ MORE

Excerpt from Feedstuffs: National Farmers Union (NFU) president Rob Larew submitted comments noting that climate change is the single biggest long-term challenge facing U.S. farmers and ranchers and must be a top priority for USDA’s innovation efforts.

“Changing weather and pest patterns, shifting growing seasons and increasing extreme weather events … [are] undoubtedly putting family farms, rural communities and our food supply at risk,” the comments said. While farmers are committed to mitigating and adapting to climate change, they do not currently have all of the information, tools or financial resources necessary to overcome these immense obstacles. To support them, USDA must both invest in climate research and new technologies as well as make sure the results "are accessible to all farmers and ranchers in these difficult times.”

When conducting and disseminating such research, USDA must prevent politicization and manipulation, which has become increasingly common under this Administration. “Farmers cannot afford for the research and innovation they rely on to be put in question for non-scientific reasons,” Larew said.

Additionally, he urged against “excessive emphasis on coordination between public and private agricultural research endeavors,” as it would deprive “independent family farmers of needed innovation” and erode “viable paths toward transformative discovery.” Instead, USDA “should work with an eye toward long-term research needs” and guarantee that “results of publicly funded research remain in the public domain and that funding sources for private research are fully disclosed.”

Furthermore, he said USDA must not exacerbate the issue of oversupply with its AIA, which includes the goal of “increasing agricultural production by 40% to meet the needs of the global population in 2050.”

For decades, agricultural policy has encouraged overproduction of certain goods, leaving farmers with “stocks of corn, soybeans, dairy and other goods that they cannot sell” and pushing prices well below the cost of production, Larew said. As an alternative, he suggested “economic policies for farmers … that move away from models that encourage farmers to produce a greater and greater volume of commodities.”

Regarding renewable fuels, the agenda calls for increased biofuel feedstock production and biofuel production efficiency and competitiveness to achieve market-driven blend rates of E15 in 2030 and E30 in 2050.

In its comments, BIO stressed the importance of bolstering the bioeconomy to meet USDA’s goals through the development of new platform technologies, enhancements in agriculture and food production and increased production of sustainable fuels, renewable chemicals and bio-based products. BIO centered its recommendations around five key principles: