A coalition of agriculture and biofuel groups is urging the administration to propose a higher octane fuel standard as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updates its greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger vehicles and light duty trucks, In a letter to President Joe Biden, the group also requested that EPA open a comment period on the role that high octane …
Biofuels Included in Ag Talks Roadmap for Trade
Farmers for Free Trade held a virtual press conference Tuesday to release a new report on the challenges and solutions for American agriculture on trade, supply chains and global competitiveness. The report is the culmination of a series of Ag Talk discussions across rural America and includes recommendations to drive demand for U.S. agricultural products at home and abroad. Recommendations …
Biofuels Coalition Challenging Small Refinery Waivers in 2018
A coalition of six biofuel and farm organizations filed a brief Tuesday challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s August 2019 decision to exempt 31 small refineries from their obligations to comply with the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2018. The Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, National Corn Growers Association, National Biodiesel Board, American Coalition for Ethanol, and National Farmers Union, collectively known …
Farm & Biofuel Groups Ask Court to Enforce EPA Ruling
Farm and biofuels leaders say it’s way past time for EPA to act on a court order from 2017 and they are going back to the court to make it happen. A coalition of biofuels and agricultural trade groups filed a motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia Monday asking the court to enforce its …
Farm & Biofuel Groups Challenge Retroactive RFS Waivers
Nine leading biofuel and farm organizations sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler Tuesday asking him for answers on what is seen as a new effort to undermine the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). During a Senate hearing last month, administration officials confirmed their consideration of retroactive small refinery exemptions (SREs) covering previous years. The “gap-filings” are …
Analysis Shows U.S. Agriculture Reducing Emissions
American agriculture is more environmentally sustainably than ever. A new analysis of updated data from both USDA and EPA shows U.S. farmers and ranchers continue to reduce per-unit greenhouse gas emissions. All told, the U.S. agricultural sector accounts for less than 10% of total U.S. emissions. That’s less than the emissions from the transportation, electricity generation and industrial sectors. Globally, …
Farm Bureau Details COVID-19 Impact on Ethanol
Agricultural commodity prices are taking big hits from the COVID-19 emergency, and one of the most hard hit sectors is ethanol, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). In the past month, dairy prices have dropped 26-36%, corn futures have dropped by 14%, soybean futures are down 8% and cotton futures have plummeted 31%. Hog futures are down by …
President Trump May Appeal Court Decision
Biofuel and agricultural organizations are up in arms over news reports out late Thursday saying President Trump is now planning to appeal the 10th Circuit Court decision regarding EPA’s granting of Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs). Oil state interests, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), have been pressuring the White House to fight the unanimous court ruling that threatens to completely …
Farmers for Free Trade Rally for USMCA
Farmers for Free Trade brought its #MotorcadeForTrade to Washington D.C. Thursday to highlight the importance of ag trade with Canada and Mexico and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that Congress will consider to upgrade NAFTA. Members of Congress and farm leaders discussed how USMCA provides farmers with new market access while maintaining a zero-tariff platform, and stressed the need for Congressional …
EPA Officially Ditches the #WOTUS Rule
Agricultural organizations are celebrating the official repeal of a rule that they have been fighting since 2015 – Waters of the United States, better known as WOTUS. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Department of the Army Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works R.D. James announced that the agencies are repealing the rule and “recodifying the …