Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue had the opportunity to give his opinion about the EPA granting numerous Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) waivers to refiners during a Senate Agricultural Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Wednesday. While the purpose of the hearing was to review USDA’s FY2019 budget request, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) brought up the RFS waiver issue and pointed out that he …
Education an Important Goal of Fly-In
2018 marked the 10th year for the American Coalition for Ethanol‘s Annual Fly-In to Washington, D.C., and Iowa livestock producer and ethanol investor Bill Couser has been to most of those events over the years. “I think the most important thing we do when we come to these fly-ins is educate people,” said Couser, who owns Couser Cattle Company in …
Fly-In Participants Passionate About Ethanol
Retired civil engineer and ethanol investor Tom Blazek of Louisiana has a passion for clean air and clean fuels. “I’m interested in cleaning up our environment and we can do that by cleaning up our motor fuels,” said Blazek, who attended the American Coalition for Ethanol‘s Annual Fly-In to Washington, D.C. for the first time this year. “Motor fuels are …
New ACE Video Discusses E15 Liability Concerns
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) released a controversial new video this week addressing fuel retailer concerns about potential liability for vehicle damage from the new E15 fuel. The video on the flexfuelforward.com website features current E15 marketers talking openly about customer E15 complaints and includes a collection of consumers who have had damage or had warranties voided by using …
Minnesota Teen Takes Part in ACE DC Fly-in
Attending the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) DC Fly-in last month was a great experience for a high school junior from Minnesota. Michael Nagler says his dad David Nagler, a board member for Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company, invited him to attend this year’s event. “I didn’t really know all that much about ethanol before,” said Michael, who had the opportunity …
RFS Waiver for Big Refiner Sparks Backlash
A Reuters report about EPA exempting one of the country’s largest oil refiners from complying with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) touched off a backlash from farm groups and ethanol organizations Tuesday. The National Farmers Union (NFU) was first to respond to the report that Texas-based Andeavor received small refiner economic hardship waivers for three of its 10 refineries that …
Ethanol Groups See Opportunity in EPA GHG Revision
As expected, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Monday the Revised Final Determination Regarding Model Year 2022-2025 Light-Duty Vehicle GHG Emissions Standards, with the conclusion that “the current standards are not appropriate and should be revised.” “The Obama Administration’s determination was wrong,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “Obama’s EPA cut the Midterm Evaluation process short with politically charged expediency, made …
NCGA President Working Hard for Ethanol in DC
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president Kevin Skunes has probably spent more time in Washington DC over the past month or so than on his farm in North Dakota working hard to protect the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and the important market of ethanol for corn growers. Last week, Skunes joined the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) in visits to …
ND Farm Couple Makes ACE Fly-in a Priority
Husband and wife farmers Mike and Pam Clemens from North Dakota spent last week in Washington DC with the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Mike says ethanol is very important to their family farm in the tiny town of Wimbledon. “It really has changed over the last 20 years when we used to grow …
ACE 10th Fly-in Conquers the Hill in the Snow
Neither snow nor rain kept the American Coalition for Ethanol fly-in teams from completing their appointed rounds last week on Capitol Hill. While the federal government was shut down for the snow, Congress was still open and surprisingly few pre-arranged meetings were cancelled. ACE members were even able to sit down with several members of Congress, including Sen. Heidi Heitkamp …