The National Corn Growers Association commended Reps. David Young, R-Iowa, and Collin Peterson, D-Minn., today on the introduction of the Restoring Our Commitment to Renewable Fuels Act to keep the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) whole. Their legislation specifically requires that, when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants exemptions to small refineries, each exempted gallon be reallocated to other refineries and blenders. The bill also stipulates that small refinery exemption petitions be subject to public disclosure.
Although the RFS provides EPA with the tools to ensure exemptions are accounted for when setting RFS volumes, EPA is not using them. EPA has retroactively waived 2.25 billion ethanol-equivalent gallons and failed to reallocate those gallons to others, effectively reducing RFS requirements. This legislation specifically requires EPA to make up waived gallons and ensures EPA is no longer able to reduce the RFS through retroactive refinery waivers. It also brings essential transparency to the small refinery exemption process.
Recent analysis from the University of Missouri’s Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) shows the impact of refinery waivers and the importance of requiring EPA to keep the RFS whole. According to FAPRI, if EPA continues to issue retroactive refinery exemptions, the demand destruction for corn farmers will amount to 300 million bushels per year due to lower RFS volumes and lower ethanol blending.
For the analysis from FAPRI, click here.
Click here to learn more about the legislation.
COVID-19 Resources
NCGA is taking a series of actions to do our part to help contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the economic fallout it is creating for corn farmers and our customers. Short term, this means instituting policies to protect the health and safety of our stakeholders and the broader communities we serve. Long term, we’re focused on creating solutions to help corn farmers and our customers recover from the financial impacts of this crisis.
CommonGround
CommonGround is a group of farmers connecting with consumers through conversations about science and research and personal stories about food and misinformation surrounding farming. Supported by the NCGA and state corn organizations.
SHP
The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) is a farmer-led initiative that fosters transformation in agriculture through improved soil health. Administered by NCGA the partnership has more than 220 working farms enrolled in 16 states. SHP’s mission is to utilize science and data to partner with farmers who are adopting conservation agricultural practices that improve the economic and environmental sustainability of the farm.
