Today from 7-10 AM central time agriculture and ethanol advocates will be participating in a Twitter Townhall, prior to the scheduled meeting today at the White House regarding the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The effort grows out of news last week that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, already under fire for getting a sweet condo deal from the wife of an …
Outrage Grows Over EPA RFS Waivers
Farm and biofuels groups are saying “enough is enough” as outrage grows over the Environmental Protection Agency granting numerous small refinery hardship waivers, combined with the approval of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions bankruptcy agreement absolving the oil refiner of the majority of its Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and state corn growers sent a …
Farm and Ethanol Groups Slam RFS Waiver for Big Refiner
A Reuters report about EPA exempting one of the country’s largest oil refiners from complying with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) touched off a backlash from farm groups and ethanol organizations Tuesday. The National Farmers Union (NFU) was first to respond to the report that Texas-based Andeavor received small refiner economic hardship waivers for three of its 10 refineries that …
Farmers Intend to Plant Less Corn and Soybeans in 2018
U.S. farmers are expected to plant more soybean acres than corn but overall intentions are down slightly from the record year in 2017, according to the Prospective Plantings report released today by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Producers surveyed across the United States intend to plant an estimated 89.0 million acres of soybeans and 88.0 million acres of …
NCGA President Working Hard for Ethanol in DC
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president Kevin Skunes has probably spent more time in Washington DC over the past month or so than on his farm in North Dakota, working hard to protect the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and the important market of ethanol for corn growers. Last week, Skunes joined the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) in visits to …
FMC Offers Season Long Disease Protection
FMC ever-growing portfolio of products offers corn, soybean and wheat farmers season-long protection from the top disease threats. At Commodity Classic, FMC Technical Service Manager Matt Wiggins was talking about the three primary solutions they offer for diseases such as Northern corn leaf blight, grey leaf spot, frog-eye leaf spot, target spot, and white mold in soybeans, rust and head …
Seed Treatment Can Harness Soil Microbes
A new and improved seed treatment will soon be available for corn growers that promises to help them “be dirt rich” to reach higher yield potential. The Poncho®/VOTiVO® 2.0 system is the next generation of the top selling seed treatment, Poncho/VOTiVO, which combines a fast-acting systemic insecticide with a biological seed treatment that provides protection against nematodes. The 2.0 is …
Ethanol Interests Shout Opposition to RIN Price Cap
As concerns began to grow late last week that the Trump Administration was leaning toward a cap on prices for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) to appease oil refinery interests, biofuel interests went into high gear to get the word out about how that action would devastate the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). A White House meeting was reportedly set for today …
Study Shows Impact of RIN Price Cap on Corn Prices
A new analysis from the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University shows that any action to artificially cap Renewable Identification Number (RIN) prices in exchange for a waiver allowing year-round sale of E15 would result in reduced ethanol consumption, a drop in corn prices, and an effective cut of 5% to the Renewable Fuel Standard …
Delaro Fungicide Shows Yield Advantage in Corn, Soybeans
Bayer has released results from 500 DelaroTM field trials which took place in 20 states. Across two years of trials, Delaro averaged a 12 to 18 bushel-per-acre increase in corn and a four to five bushel-per-acre increase in soybeans compared to an untreated check. In these trials, Delaro had a 90 percent win rate over the untreated check. The recent …