As the coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating economic impact on the ethanol industry, meetings have also been changing to hopefully give more producers the ability to attend. The American Coalition for Ethanol‘s Annual Conference will now be held in conjunction with the 2020 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop (FEW) & Expo in Omaha, Nebraska, on August 25. FEW had already …
Ethanol Report 5-29-20
As America gets moving again, ethanol is ready to fuel summer adventures. Ethanol production is slowly climbing back up after hitting historic lows due to coronavirus restrictions keeping people from traveling. Now that people are getting back on the road and in the water, Renewable Fuels Association Vice President of Industry Affairs Robert White talks about some of their summertime …
Ethanol and Oil State Senators Compete for EPA Help
During a hearing last week before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler was pushed by senators on both sides of the Renewable Fuel Standard for a commitment to helping them. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), who spearheaded a letter to Wheeler from oil state senators, expressed his dissatisfaction with the 10th circuit court decision regarding small …
RFA CEO Says Worst May be Over for Ethanol Industry
The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to have a devastating impact on the U.S. ethanol industry, slashing production by half and leading to the idling of scores of plants across rural America. However, the industry may be finally turning the corner, according to Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “We are starting to see some ethanol plants come …
Ethanol Report 4-30-20
Ethanol producers are literally in the battle of their lives for the survival of the industry, as losses continue to mount from restrictions on travel put in place due to COVID-19. The latest production data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association for the week ending April 24, ethanol production dropped another 4.6%, or 26,000 barrels per day (b/d), to 537,000 …
Ethanol Industry Losses Mount
As the COVID-19 pandemic and crude oil glut continue to ravage world fuel markets, U.S. ethanol sales in 2020 could fall by more than $10 billion and the industry’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) could drop by nearly one-third, according to a new analysis by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). The economic losses stem from a “pernicious combination of …
Ethanol Left Out of USDA Aid Plan
U.S. ethanol producers struggling with the largest downturn in the history of the industry were disappointed to hear that the new $19 billion USDA aid program will provide no direct help for them. “While we appreciate that USDA’s new program provides needed assistance to the nation’s farmers and ranchers, it is unfortunate and disappointing that the 350,000 workers supported by …
President Trump Says Help for Farmers Coming Soon
During the daily White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing on Thursday, President Donald Trump said help for hurting farmers is coming soon. “We have money going out to our farmers in the pretty near future,” said President Trump. “The farmers got hurt very badly by all of this. People are eating less from the standpoint that there’s no restaurants that …
ACE: COVID-19 Exposes Flaw in RFS Rulemaking
The American Coalition for Ethanol is urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address a shortcoming in the implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) which has been exposed with the recent nosedive in gasoline use as a result of COVID-19. ACE CEO Brian Jennings explains that the world is very different today compared to the end of December. “At …
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 …