Because GROWMARK is a farmer-owned cooperative, its priorities reflect the interests of its farmer members, and right now that number one priority is trade in general and the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) in particular. “Having the assurance of the United States Mexico Canada trade agreement passed will be an ultimate priority, hopefully it won’t go much past October,” said …
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 …
Biodiesel Helps Grow Clean Energy Economy
An Iowa biodiesel plant manager told a Congressional panel this week that small biodiesel producers are important components of the clean energy economy and deserve the support of stable policies. Western Dubuque Biodiesel General Manager Tom Brooks, a member of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), testified at a hearing on “Growing the Clean Energy Economy” before the House Small Business …
Steps to a Biorefinery
Diversifying ethanol plants into biorefineries was an important topic at the recent American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) annual meeting in Omaha, as a strategy moving forward. Steps to a Biorefinery was a panel at the conference with leading technology providers and producers discussing strategies for ethanol producers to diversify, become more efficient, and remain profitable well into the future. Among …
Political Pollster Plugs E85
Political consultant, pollster, and “public opinion guru” Frank Luntz gave a surprising plug for the use of E85 (85 percent ethanol blended fuel) and the need for more flex fuel vehicles (FFVs) during an appearance on FOX News Channel’s The Ingraham Angle with Laura Ingraham last Thursday. “There’s a gasoline, E85, it’s ethanol,” said Luntz during an interview about the …
Ethanol Report DC Update
Ethanol continues to be in the national news with President Trump indicating he will be announcing some type of small refinery waiver mitigation for the industry, as demands that the gallons waived be reallocated increase. Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Geoff Cooper was in Washington DC this week and in this edition of The Ethanol Report he gives …
Biodiesel Industry Spotlights Waiver Pain
The biodiesel industry wants the administration to understand that they are hurting as much or more than ethanol producers as a result of EPA’s small refinery exemptions (SRE). National Biodiesel Board (NBB) CEO Donnell Rehagen and Vice President of Federal Affairs Kurt Kovarik hosted a conference call with reporters Thursday to discuss the impact of small refinery exemptions on biodiesel …
Biodiesel Industry Hits Keep Coming
At the same time the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s annual proposed Renewable Fuel Standard rule on Friday, the industry was hit with a court ruling that upholds the agency’s method for setting biomass-based diesel volumes in the 2017 RFS rules. In comments on the RFS rule, NBB urged EPA to increase advanced biofuel …
No Details on Small Refinery Waiver Mitigation
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue was tight-lipped last week at the Farm Progress Show when it came to details of the administration’s “small refinery waiver mitigation efforts” that President Trump “really wants to announce himself.” “I don’t want to steal the president’s thunder on that,” Sec. Perdue said during a listening session held Wednesday morning at Richland Community College on …