While the Kamala Harris/Donald Trump debate took the spotlight this week, Farm Foundation hosted a forum on Monday that focused more specifically on the farm policy of each party’s candidate.

Moderated by Kristina Peterson with The Wall Street Journal, The Agricultural Platforms of the Candidates for President of the United States featured Kip Tom, Farmers and Ranchers for Trump Coalition, for the Republican platform, while the Democratic platform was advocated for by Rod Snyder, former Senior Advisor for Agriculture for EPA in the Biden-Harris Administration. Topics covered included the farm bill, agricultural trade, environmental policy, farm labor and immigration, and biofuels policy.

Snyder, who recently stepped down from his position with EPA, says the Biden-Harris administration committed to getting the Renewable Fuel Standard back on track. “We made good on that,” said Snyder. “The administration finalized the largest ever volumes in the history of the program across all categories, including 15 billion gallons of conventional ethanol.”

He also pointed to the tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act for Sustainable Aviation Fuel. “If we can continue to look for new markets, even if on-road liquid fuels plateau, there are still future opportunities for farmers as long as the government can help come alongside and be a partner in that work,” said Snyder.

Tom, an Indiana farmer who served as US Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture under President Trump, stressed the importance of the ethanol industry to corn farmers like himself and the need for higher blends. “I’ll tell you, the biofuels industry has revitalized rural America,” said Tom. “But the reality is we need E15, probably E20, maybe even E30. A lot of vehicles can burn this today, but the electric vehicle mandates have been been pretty substantially hurting the industry.”

The two-hour discussion at the National Press Club also included questions from the audience and it is well worth watching. Watch the whole forum here.

Listen to opening statements and specific comments on biofuels here:
Farm Foundation forum opening statements (18:57)
Farm Foundation forum biofuels policy comments (3:43)