Why Donald Trump Is Feeling the Heat From Midwestern Farmers

September 14, 2018

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by Justin Worland (Time Magazine) On the campaign trail, Donald Trump made two big promises: renegotiating free trade agreements and helping corn growers by supporting ethanol. ... As tensions over trade have proven painful to Midwestern farmers in the short term, demands that he do more to back ethanol have increased from farmers hoping it might offset the losses elsewhere.

Farmers in places of key political importance like Iowa, Missouri and Michigan are increasingly anxious about the falling price of corn and soybeans that have followed China’s response to Trump’s trade moves.

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For many farmers, Trump appears to have sided with the oil industry, which they believe exerts undue influence on ethanol policy. It’s an argument that Trump himself once used when campaigning against Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the GOP primary.

“He will destroy your ethanol business 100%,” Trump told voters ahead of the Iowa caucuses in 2016. “And look, I’m not really blaming him because he’s financed by oil people. The oil people don’t want ethanol, it’s very simple.”

Now, with the midterm elections fast approaching, Midwestern farmers say it’s time for Trump to help them out of their rut by changing the Administration’s tune.

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The local support for ethanol is a question of simple economics: nearly 40% of all corn produced in the U.S. winds up being refined into ethanol, a reality supported by the decade old RFS. But the Trump Administration has undercut that policy by granting waivers to a slew of oil companies, exempting them from the requirement. That maneuver has slashed ethanol demand by more than 2 billion barrels, which has in turn hurt demand for corn and contributed to the falling price of the product.

The Administration’s stance on the issue has dismayed farmers, particularly because Trump positioned himself as an ethanol supporter on the campaign trail.

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The midterms give corn farmers and the ethanol industry some leverage to push Trump to keep his promises. Democrats in competitive congressional races in states like Iowa and Missouri have seized on the devastation Trump’s trade agenda has brought farmers and tied their opponents to the president’s policies.

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Many refiners — think the Koch Brothers and Trump supporter Carl Icahn — carry outsize influence in Republican politics and have fought proposed changes tooth and nail. READ MORE

Commodities giant ADM ramps up ethanol sales in Chicago, irking rivals (Reuters)

Ethanol and Farm Groups Getting Impatient for Answers (Energy.AgWired.com)

FAPRI finds EPA’s RFS exemptions cost $20b in lost ethanol sales (Western Farm Press)

Refiner Waivers Could Cost Ethanol Industry $20 Billion (Hoosier Ag Today)

Groups to Trump: Ethanol, Ag Need Help--Letter to President Spells out Urgency for Farmers, Ethanol Producers (DTN The Progressive Farmer)

AFBF, other groups call for action on renewable fuels (Farm Week Now)

Trump urged to restore integrity to RFS, allow year-round E15 (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

Ag organizations urge Trump to allow year-round E15 (Wallaces Farmer)

Year-round E15 is good for Iowa, the nation (The Gazette)

What did they talk to the President about? (KELO)

Minn. farmers are in D.C. to talk to officials. Here's what's on their minds (Minnesota Public Radio)

Public Pulse: Rural communities and E15 (Omaha World Herald)

Trump's Relationship With American Farmers Is Soiled Because Of Biofuels Stance And Trade War (Forbes)

Excerpt from Western Farm Press: On the legislative front, Reps. David Young (R., Iowa) and Collin Peterson (D., Minn.) introduced the Restoring Our Commitment to Renewable Fuels Act to keep the RFS whole. Their legislation specifically requires that, when EPA grants exemptions to small refineries, each exempted gallon must be reallocated to other refineries and blenders. The bill also stipulates that small refinery exemption petitions must be subject to public disclosure. READ MORE