USDA Announces More Trade Aid for Farmers

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced several actions that USDA will be taking to assist farmers in response to trade damage from unjustified retaliation and trade disruption.

President Trump directed Secretary Perdue to craft a relief strategy to support American agricultural producers while the Administration continues to work on free, fair, and reciprocal trade deals to open more markets in the long run to help American farmers compete globally. Specifically, the President has authorized USDA to provide up to $16 billion in programs, which is in line with the estimated impacts of unjustified retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods and other trade disruptions. These programs will assist agricultural producers while President Trump works to address long-standing market access barriers.

Details of the aid package were announced in a press call with USDA officials, including:

• U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue
• USDA’s Chief Economist, Dr. Rob Johannson
• Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, Bill Northey
• Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, Greg Ibach
• Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, Ted McKinney
• Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, Brandon Lipps
• USDA’s Trade Counsel Jason Hafemeister

Listen or download here:
USDA Announces Trade Aid Package

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GROWMARK Serves Energy Customers in Various Ways

GROWMARK continues to serve customers in the energy sector, not just in the Midwest but across much of the United States.

The agricultural cooperative markets 2.2 billion gallons on energy products throughout the territory it serves, including gasoline fuel, propane and lubricants. This presence includes 140 different fuel terminals and 235 retail stations. GROWMARK is also the fourth largest propane retailer in the United States, according to Scott Long, manager, marketing and business development at GROWMARK. He said the cooperative puts the customer first.

“We try to listen to what they’re trying to accomplish and then find a package, whether that’s gasoline, diesel fuel, we’ve done some solar projects,” said Long. “We deal quite a bit with the additive business, trying to make sure that the fuel that they’re purchasing stays like it was originally intended to go through today’s equipment.”

Logistics are a continual concern as there are not always enough truck drivers to move products, especially during the busiest times. Very wet conditions have slowed fieldwork considerably during the 2019 planting season, but Long predicts an extremely busy season for energy as farmers get back into the fields.

Listen to Carrie’s interview here: Interview with Scott Long, GROWMARK

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FCA Board Chairman Dallas Tonsager Dies

Farm Credit Administration board chairman and former USDA under secretary Dallas Tonsager died Tuesday of lymphoma in Falls Church, Virginia. He was 64.

Tonsager was appointed to the FCA board by President Barack Obama in 2015 and was designated chairman and CEO in 2016. Prior to that, he served as under secretary for rural development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 2009 to 2013. Tonsager grew up on a dairy farm near Oldham, South Dakota and was a graduate of South Dakota State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in agriculture in 1976.

FCA Board Member Jeff Hall has been designated acting CEO. “Dallas dedicated his life to helping farmers, ranchers, and other rural Americans,” said Hall. “Both at USDA and FCA, he worked hard to promote investments in rural communities. As chairman of FCA, he urged the Farm Credit System to work with borrowers experiencing stress as a result of the current downturn in the farm economy.”

“He worked especially hard to ensure the success of the biofuels industry, as well as highlighting the healthcare and broadband needs of rural America,” said House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson of Minnesota. “His leadership and dedication to rural communities will be greatly missed.”

The Tonsager family plans to host a funeral service in South Dakota and a memorial service in Washington.

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Groups Urge Congress to Extend the Biodiesel Tax Credit

Cindy Zimmerman

More than a dozen industry stakeholder organizations are asking Congressional leaders to take immediate action on bipartisan legislation to extend the biodiesel tax incentive.

Thirteen trade groups representing farmers, rural lenders, crop and biobased oil producers, and biodiesel producers sent a letter this week to House and Senate leadership stressing the urgent need for the rural economy.

“America’s farmers and rural communities are facing a mounting economic threat. With your leadership, Congress can help mitigate the crisis by taking immediate action on a policy that enjoys bipartisan, bicameral support. We are writing today to ask you to renew and extend the biodiesel tax incentive at the earliest opportunity,” the letter states.

In addition to the National Biodiesel Board, the groups include the Agricultural Retailers Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, CoBank, Corn Refiners Association, Farm Credit Council, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Farmers Union, National Oilseed Processors Association, National Renderers Association, National Sorghum Producers, and U.S. Canola Association.

Biodiesel, NBB

ACE Annual Meeting Registration Open

Cindy Zimmerman

Registration for the 32nd annual American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) conference, August 14-16 at the Omaha Marriott Downtown at the Capitol District in Omaha, Nebraska. This year’s “What it Takes” conference theme and programming reflect the ethanol industry’s fortitude for growing the business of clean fuel despite several headwinds the industry battles today.

For over three decades, the ACE conference has focused on the people of the ethanol industry and their priorities — a meeting where ethanol producers rub shoulders with retailers, policymakers, researchers, and other industry members. The event provides two days of general sessions, including updates from ACE leadership, as well as insight on topics like the ethanol retail marketplace, future demand opportunities, and trade developments from fuel retailers and industry experts. The conference also offers nine breakout sessions with subjects covering the latest in technology updates, strategic planning advice, and ways to make ethanol plants more profitable.

Get a preview of the annual meeting this year from ACE Senior Director of Operations and Programming Shannon Gustafson.

Interview with Shannon Gustafson, ACE

Link to conference information and registration.

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Study Shows RFS Saves 22 Cents Per Gallon

Cindy Zimmerman

A new study shows the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has lowered gas prices by an average of 22 cents per gallon in recent years and saved the typical American household $250 annually.

The study, by economist and energy policy expert Dr. Philip K. Verleger, Jr., used an econometric model to estimate the impacts of the RFS, which requires refiners to blend increasing amounts of renewable fuels with gasoline and diesel, on crude oil and gasoline prices over the last four years (2015-2018).

“The Renewable Fuel Standard Program: Measuring the Impact on Crude Oil and Gasoline Prices” concludes that by expanding fuel supplies by approximately 1 million barrels per day, the RFS reduced the price of crude oil by an average of $6 per barrel from 2015-2018. In turn, gas prices were reduced by an average of 22 cents per gallon, which amounts to a savings of nearly $5 every time consumers fill up. According to the study, the RFS is responsible for putting roughly $90 billion back into the pockets of U.S. consumers over the past four years, increasing discretionary income and raising the nation’s gross domestic product.

The report also found that if ethanol was entirely eliminated from the fuel supply, as some opponents of renewable fuels have advocated, gasoline prices would surge by more than $1 per gallon. According to the study, “Retail prices would today be above $4 per gallon, not $2.90, were renewable supplies removed from the supply mix.”

“If you’ve never heard of the Renewable Fuel Standard before today, this study tells you all you need to know: blending renewable fuels like ethanol into our gasoline supply saves American consumers money every time they fill up their tank,” said Geoff Cooper, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). “As we head into the summer driving season, it’s important for American consumers to recognize that the RFS is keeping prices down at the pump, while at the same time reducing harmful tailpipe pollutants, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and moving us closer to energy independence.”

Read the study.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, RFS

Michigan Hall of Fame Honors Biodiesel Ambassador

Cindy Zimmerman

The Michigan Environmental Hall of Fame has inducted a Biodiesel Ambassador into its ranks.

Chris Case was honored for his lifetime commitment to environmental stewardship in the awards created by the Muskegon Environmental Research & Education Society in 2010.
National Biodiesel Board CEO Donnell Rehagen says Case is an environmental pioneer whose life’s work has forged a model for sustainable practices like biodiesel use. “During his tenure as facilities manager at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Munising, Michigan, Case led early adoption of this cleaner burning fuel in the 1990s,” said Rehagen. “As a volunteer Biodiesel Ambassador, Chris has generously shared the real-world environmental and performance benefits of biodiesel with parks, schools and fleets across the nation.”

Case’s leadership helped the park reduce its environmental footprint, protect natural resources for generations to come, and improve worker health and safety. The Lakeshore’s Environmental Leadership program, which included the use of biodiesel as well as soy-biobased lubricants and other products, earned the 2005 Department of the Interior’s Environmental Achievement Award.

Biodiesel, NBB

Promoting Fuel Ethanol In South Korea

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA’s FAS) recently conducted the fourth annual Bioethanol Fuel Promotion Conference in Seoul, South Korea. The effort is designed to encourage ethanol use in the South Korean transport sector by providing information on the environmental, human health and economic benefits of blending ethanol into fuel supplies.

South Korea currently ranks as the fifth largest international market for U.S. ethanol but only imports ethanol for industrial uses. The workshop featured a report on the South Korean biofuels situation, a panel discussion between U.S. and Korean industry officials, perspective from the Japanese biofuels policy changes and the positive impacts of ethanol on air quality, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions and cost savings.

South Korean imports of U.S. ethanol set a new record in 2017/2018 at 69.7 million gallons (24.7 million bushels in corn equivalent). Thus far in the new marketing year (September 2018 to February 2019), South Korea has imported 56.3 million gallons (nearly 20 million bushels in corn equivalent), more than doubling sales year-over-year. The increase follows a January 2018 South Korean ban on methanol, a competing product for industrial uses with high toxicity.

While U.S. ethanol is used solely for beverage and industrial uses, the South Korean government is working on research into the viability of a national biofuels policy that could provide expanded market opportunities. The Council continues to work with U.S. government officials to support Korean government and industry as they discuss the use of ethanol as a fuel alternative.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, International, USDA, USGC

European Commission Removes Ethanol Duties

Cindy Zimmerman

U.S. ethanol stakeholders are pleased with the decision by the European Commission to not renew anti-dumping duties on European Union (EU) imports of U.S. ethanol.

“RFA has always maintained these penalties were unjustified and unwarranted,” said Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) CEO Geoff Cooper. “The U.S. ethanol industry is looking forward to resuming more open trade relations with the European Union. With today’s removal of these duties, consumers in the EU will once again have unfettered access to clean, affordable, renewable fuels.”

Growth Energy and the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) joined RFA in welcoming the decision, which stems from the European Commission’s expiry review of the anti-dumping duties the Commission put in place in 2013. In announcing its decision, the Commission found no evidence that warranted continuation of those duties and that their removal of duties would not encourage dumping in the EU.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, Growth Energy, RFA, USGC

RFA Rolls Out New Logo and Web Site

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has a new look. The organization has unveiled a new logo complete with a fully rebranded web site.

Featuring fresh design elements, crisp imagery, streamlined content, and new information, the RFA site will serve as the go-to resource for renewable fuel advocates, policymakers, media, researchers, fuel retailers, students, consumers and others seeking the latest news and data about renewable fuels.

The new logo features an abstraction symbolizing the “road ahead.” The image represents the ethanol industry coming together and forging a path forward that takes renewable fuels to new places and creates new opportunities.

The colors are carried over from the previous logo, with green representing both the environmental benefits of renewable energy and the plant-based materials that become renewable fuels; gold representing both energy from sunlight and our nation’s bountiful grain harvest; and blue representing clean air, clean water, and the planet Earth.

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