Senators Ask EPA For Waiver of Corn-Ethanol Mandate

By CnAgri2012-08-08 19:06:59 Print

A bipartisan group of senators followed 156 House lawmakers in urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help livestock and poultry farmers deal with severe drought conditions by waiving the federal mandate that requires corn-ethanol to be blended into gasoline.

The National Pork Producers Council, which supports the effort, says the Renewable Fuels Standard requires 13.2 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol to be produced in 2012 and 13.8 billion gallons in 2013, amounts that will see the ethanol industry use about 4.7 billion and 4.9 billion bushels, respectively, of the nation's corn.

As of now, there are 25 senators, 13 Democrats and 12 Republicans, who signed a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, asking that she take immediate action to bring relief to farmers suffering from the worst drought in more than 50 years. House members last week sent a similar letter to Jackson.

"As stressful weather conditions continue to push corn yields lower and prices upward, the economic ramifications for consumers, livestock and poultry producers, food manufacturers and foodservice providers will become more severe," the senators wrote in their letter. "We ask you to adjust the corn grain-ethanol mandate of the RFS to reflect this natural disaster and these new market conditions. Doing so will help to ease supply concerns and provide relief from high corn prices."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently rated 23 percent of the nation's corn crop as good to excellent and 50 percent as poor to very poor because of the drought affecting most of the corn-growing regions.

The requests by Senate and House lawmakers follow the July 30 filing of a petition by a coalition of livestock and poultry organizations asking EPA to grant in whole or in part a waiver of the RFS for the remainder of 2012 and for part of 2013.