Ethanol Blog

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- With the USDA forecasting a record corn crop Tuesday of 16.7 billion bushels, one of the nation's largest ethanol interest groups called on the Trump administration to step up efforts to expand markets for farmers through E15.

The Renewable Fuels Association on Tuesday responded quickly to the numbers released today, calling on the federal government to remove what the RFS says are "artificial regulatory barriers" that are "undercutting demand and constraining market opportunities" for both corn and ethanol.

"Alarm bells are ringing across rural America following today's USDA report and they should be ringing in the halls of Congress," RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper said in a statement, noting that this year's crop is forecast to be nearly 2 billion bushels larger than last year's crop.

"Our nation's farmers are doing their job -- they are sustainably and efficiently producing the largest corn crop in history. But antiquated policies and regulations -- like the summertime prohibition on E15, outdated pump labeling obligations and needless equipment certification requirements are stifling demand and failing America's farmers."

Cooper continued, "The best way to boost demand for U.S. crops is to truly unleash American ethanol and open the market to higher blends. Over the long-term, year-round availability of E15 nationwide presents a new demand opportunity for more than 2 billion bushels of corn and sorghum. Opening the door to that opportunity now would provide a badly needed shot in the arm for farming communities across the heartland, while also helping consumers save an additional 10 to 30 cents per gallon at the pump."

In a news release on Tuesday, the RFA said there are several things both the federal government and Congress should do to boost farm markets.

That includes:

-Congress passing the Nationwide Fuel Retailer and Consumer Choice Act, which would allow E15 to be sold year-round, nationwide without the need for ad hoc emergency waivers.

-Congress adopting the Ethanol for America Act, which would streamline regulatory requirements related to E15 pump labeling and equipment compatibility.

-RFA said Congress and the Trump administration should eliminate century-old ethanol denaturant requirements, which obligate ethanol producers to "poison their clean, renewable fuel with dirty, toxic substances."

RFA said the requirements create challenges for using ethanol to make renewable jet fuel and they "ultimately reduce demand for corn by displacing ethanol with low-quality hydrocarbon denaturants."

-The group said the administration should finalize "strong" Renewable Fuel Standard volumes, limit small-refinery exemptions, and reallocate any exempted volumes.

"Once finalized, the 2026 and 2027 RFS volumes proposed by EPA will help boost demand for U.S. farmers," the RFA said. "But those gains can only be realized if the volume requirements are not destabilized with unrestored SREs. Notably, the last time corn prices were this low and the corn surplus was this high was in 2018-2019, when the massive issuance of SREs destroyed demand for ethanol, biomass-based diesel, corn and soybeans."

Cooper said Congress and the administration can take these "simple steps" to strengthen America's agriculture sector and "stave off an impending crisis" in farm country.

According to the RFA, the USDA is forecasting direct government payments to farmers to hit $42.4 billion in 2025, more than quadruple the 2024 level and the second highest ever trailing only the $45.6 billion distributed in 2020, when the COVID pandemic cratered global demand for farm products.

Read more on DTN:

"USDA Forecasts Record Corn Crop at 16.7B Bushels," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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