Ag Policy Blog

Major farm organizations and fuel retailers wrote the White House on Monday urging President Donald Trump to follow through on talks to reduce regulatory barriers to selling 15% ethanol blends year round.

The letter comes with the prospect of another White House meeting over the Renewable Fuels Standard on Tuesday. https://goo.gl/…

The National Corn Growers Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, National Farmers Union and the National Association of Wheat Growers all joined the letter Monday, pointing to the projected decline in farm income -- forecast to fall $4.3 billion this year -- and the need to jumpstart the agricultural economy.

The farm groups all expressed concern about EPA's use of exemptions to waive up to 1.6 billion gallons in RFS volume requirements. The letter noted refiners have benefited at the expense of farmers.

"These exemptions run contrary to your commitment to America's farmers and remove a significant amount of renewable fuel gallons from RFS volumes," the letter stated. https://goo.gl/…

In a separate letter, Growth Energy released a signed letter from companies representing 1,400 fuel retail stores that sell E15. The letter cited the "common-sense change" of allowing consistently better fuel to consumers year-round. Retailers after June 1 have to relabel their pumps to restrict the use of 15% ethanol. The relabeling risks causing confusion among consumers. If the president followed through on his request for 15% ethanol sales all the time, then there would be less confusion in the marketplace.

Companies in the Growth Energy letter also asked the president to curtail EPA's use of the refinery hardship waivers. https://goo.gl/…

And yet in another letter, another group of Midwestern fuel retailers also asked the president to ensure his administration follow through on E15. The retailers noted they will have to stop selling 15% ethanol on June 1 unless EPA begins initiating a rule-making process to allow year-round sales.

"In allowing E15 year-round, we can lower gasoline prices, reduce emissions, use more home-grown fuels, boost the agricultural economy and increase competition in the fuel marketplace. Expanding 15 sales will also bring down the price of RINs the right way -- by expanded ethanol use," the fuel retailers wrote in a letter sent out by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. https://goo.gl/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

Follow him on Twitter @ChriscClaytonDTN

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