[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Agricultural groups released documentation surrounding the Renewable Fuel Standard[/title][fusion_text]Thursday, October 8th 2015
Two agricultural groups released documentation today claiming that uncertainty surrounding the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is a major factor in projected drops in net farm income. The white paper was released Thursday by the National Farmers Union and the National Corn Growers Association, and it pointed to USDA’s Economic Research Service’s projected 26 percent drop in net cash income for farmers. The paper calls the RFS “the most significant growth factor for agriculture since its inception,” and that the “agricultural economic revolution spawned by the renewable fuel industry helped raise farm incomes across nearly all agricultural sectors.” The Environmental Protection Agency has been under fire for its administration of the RFS for some time after delayed Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) announcements led to a lawsuit from the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers. That lawsuit resulted in a timeline for announcement of 2014 and 2015 RVOs, and the EPA is voluntarily announcing the 2016 RVOs along the same schedule. An announcement is expected by the end of November. But, as the white paper notes, the uncertainty in the blending requirements under the law led to uncertainty at ethanol plants across the country, forcing many to close. In May, EPA proposed incremental increases in every biofuel category, including corn ethanol used in E10 and higher blends at gas pumps across the country. In 2015, the agency is proposing 16.3 billion gallons of renewable fuels – short of the 20.5 billion statutory target – with the potential for 13.4 billion of those gallons coming from corn ethanol. In 2016, the agency suggests further increases to 17.4 billion gallons of biofuels – a jump of about 1.5 billion gallons from actual 2014 production but below the 22.25 billion called for in statutory language – with the potential for corn ethanol to account for 11.4 billion of the total.
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