For the first month of 2018, the amount of corn used to make ethanol in the U.S. was down two percent from December 2017 but up one percent from January 2017, according to the latest USDA Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production report. Corn use for fuel alcohol totaled 476 million bushels in January 2018 with dry milling fuel production and …
Northey Takes Oath of USDA Office
It was a long time coming, but finally Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue administered the oath of office to Bill Northey to serve as the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service (FFAS) at USDA. Northey has served as Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture, and is a former president of the National Corn Growers Association. “After months of waiting, I’m …
Perdue Answers RINs Question During Town Hall
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue held a town hall on the main stage in the Commodity Classic Trade Show Thursday and answered some questions from a few of the hundreds of farmers who gathered to watch and listen. Former National Corn Growers Association president Pam Johnson of Iowa wanted to know specifically if the secretary supported a cap on …
Perdue Pledges “Unequivocal” Support for RFS
A lot of drama and speculation preceded the appearance of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue at Commodity Classic, thanks to some reports questioning his support for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), so he wasted no time in stating his “unequivocal” support for the law. “I have not and will not support any policies in this country that diminish the demand, undermine …
Perdue Discusses State of Rural Economy
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue briefed members of the House Agriculture Committee Tuesday on the current state of the rural economy and USDA’s farm bill priorities. “We’re in a very different situation than when you last contemplated a farm bill,” said Perdue in his opening remarks. “The state of the rural economy is fragile.” Secretary Perdue was asked about a number …
Censky Receives Biodiesel Pioneer Award
USDA Deputy Secretary Steve Censky was presented with the Eye on Biodiesel Pioneer award at the 2018 National Biodiesel Conference Wednesday. As the long-time CEO of the American Soybean Association, Censky was instrumental in the growth and advancement of biodiesel over the years. ASA’s primary focus as an organization is policy development and implementation of soybean farmer issues, including biodiesel. …
Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue at #AFBF18
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue set the stage for his boss and our president Donald J. Trump to address the largest general farm organization in the country Monday. Perdue highlighted accomplishments of the Trump Administration related to agriculture and discussed the importance of trade and NAFTA in particular to U.S. agriculture. “To get a deal, we need all sides …
Perdue Hopes For RFS Resolution
It’s been a long and busy year for Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, but here at the end he is still short-staffed at USDA and could use some help from Santa to get the job done. “I had no idea we would be delayed like this and it’s unfortunate,” said Sec. Perdue in a recent interview with Iowa Agribusiness Network‘s …
USDA Boosts Corn for Ethanol Forecast
Ethanol is driving up demand for corn in the December supply demand estimate from USDA. The forecast for 2017-18 increases the amount of corn used to produce ethanol by 50 million bushels to 5.525 billion, based on less sorghum going to ethanol production. Corn ending stocks are lowered in turn by 50 million bushels but the impact on the season-average …
Secretary Perdue Comments on RVO Numbers
During a visit to the Agricultural Retailers Association conference and expo in Phoenix on Thursday, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue was asked to comment on the final Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for 2018. The Secretary noted that the requirement for conventional renewable fuels like corn ethanol is capped at 15 billion gallons, so that’s as high …