Ethanol Blog

Chicken Council Lobbies for Ethanol Reduction

Cheryl Anderson
By  Cheryl Anderson , DTN Staff Reporter

The National Chicken Council is asking for a reduction in the amount of ethanol produced in the U.S. in 2017, as well as a reassessment of the U.S. biofuel program as a whole, according to comments made by the NCC in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed Renewable Fuel Standard for 2017 (http://bit.ly/…).

The EPA recommendation was to increase the RFS from 18.11 billion gallons in 2016 to 18.8 billion gallons in 2017. Those recommendations for 2017 are not just fuel market issues, the NCC argued. It said increased ethanol produces increases demand for corn, which impacts all corn users, especially poultry producers who do not benefit from the renewable identification numbers.

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Distillers grains, that are used as feed for livestock, are not as valuable to broiler producers, especially with the growing trend of removing corn oil from distillers grains, the NCC said. Poultry producers value the oil as a source of energy in rations. Currently, 85% of all ethanol plants utilize oil extraction, according to the RFA.

The NCC argued that EPA needs to create a more sustainable approach to U.S. fuel policies, as current diversion of corn from feed to fuel uses "exacts a heavy toll on the domestic chicken industry and American consumers." Mike Brown, NCC president, said the proposed 2017 volumes are "overly aggressive and based on faulty assumptions about the fuel market and thus should be further reduced to limit the disruptions to the corn market and nation's feed supply.

Cheryl Anderson can be reached at Cheryl.anderson@dtn.com

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