RFA at the Farm Progress Show
“This is one of our favorite events of the year because it really gives us a chance to put our finger on the pulse of what farmers are talking about,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “We have some amazing conversations with farmers who come up and kind of tell us about what’s happening on their operations and the things that are keeping them up at night, answer a lot of their questions about what’s happening in the ethanol world and with policy and regulatory developments. But more than anything, it’s just a good way for us to make sure we’re connecting every year with farmers, who of course are tremendously important to what we do in the ethanol industry.”
Cooper says the farm economy is suffering right now, but ethanol continues to be a bright spot and farmers know it. “There was farming before ethanol and there’s been farming after ethanol and the two could not be more different,” said Cooper. “It has just been such a boon to these rural economies, these farming economies. It has helped to add value to commodities. It’s helped create jobs in these communities. It’s helped create new economic activity. in these communities across the country and farmers get that. They know that. They come up to our booth and tell us, thank you. Thank you guys for doing what you’re doing because ethanol has really saved the farm economy.”
To help the situation in farm country now, Cooper says we need the next new wave for ethanol. “And that next wave needs to be nationwide, year-round E15, continuing to grow our export demand, getting into new markets like maritime fuel and aviation, and just continuing to build and expand those markets,” he said. “Year-round E15 alone, if we were able to replace E10 nationwide, if every gallon of gasoline was E15, that’s another 6 billion gallons of ethanol demand…about 2.5 billion bushels of new corn demand.”
In this interview from Farm Progress Show, Cooper comments on EPA’s granting new small refinery waivers, California E15, record ethanol exports, and more.
Geoff Cooper, RFA President and CEO, comments on EPA small refinery exemptions, E15, and record ethanol exports
FPS26 Geoff Cooper, RFA 13:17