A coalition of biofuel and agriculture groups have petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to change its regulations to “account for lost volumes of renewable fuel resulting from the unprecedented number of retroactive small refinery exemptions from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations recently granted by EPA.” The petitioners are the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Growth …
Preview of the 2018 CUTC
The 2018 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference is about to start in St. Louis, MO. This event is held every other year and features technical presentations on various topic related to corn and uses for corn. The theme this year is, “Increasing efficiency across the supply chain to enable new products.” On the CUTC Planning Committee as Co-Chair is Nathan …
Ethanol Coalition Suing EPA Over Refinery Waivers
A coalition of farm and ethanol organizations has filed a lawsuit over the Environmental Protection Agency’s “secretive small refinery exemptions.” The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and National Farmers Union (NFU), with support of Farmers Union Enterprises, filed the suit late Tuesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th …
CUTC Extends Poster Submission Deadline
The Corn Utilization & Technology Conference (CUTC) just announced that the deadline for posters to be submitted has been extended to Friday, May 18, 2018. There are a number of categories that you can submit a poster to including: The professional category for both general and mycotoxin posters General session student posters Mycotoxin student posters The Poster session is a …
White House RFS Meeting Yields Good and Bad News
News that the Tuesday meeting at the White House resulted in a commitment to allow year-round sales of 15% ethanol blends was tempered by a reported plan to reallocate Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) from exempted renewable fuel volumes using exported ethanol gallons. As Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley tweeted after the meeting, the devil will be in the details of the …
Groups Urge Trump to Support Farmers and Biofuels
Numerous agricultural and biofuels interests are urging President Trump to help farmers by implementing year-round sales of higher ethanol blends when he meets once again this week with Congressional leaders from farm and oil states at the White House. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), American Farm Bureau Federation, National Farmers Union, American Soybean Association and National Association of Wheat …
Corn and Ethanol Advocates Tweeting #RFSWorks
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 …
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 …
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 …
Soil Health Partnership Grows and Changes
As the Soil Health Partnership (SHP) heads into its fourth year of long-term data collection on working farms, the National Corn Growers Association initiative (NCGA) continues to grow and change. Nick Goeser, who has served as the project’s director since its launch in 2014, has been promoted to the position of Vice President of Production and Sustainability for the National …