Ted Mottaz, President of the Illinois Corn Growers Association and a farmer from Elmwood, IL, joined farmer leaders from 22 other states today asking President Trump to follow the law and keep the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) whole.  The letter is a response to the Trump Administration's recent approval of 31 new RFS waivers to large oil companies.

The 85 total waivers approved under the Trump Administration amount to 4.04 billion gallons, resulting in reduced corn demand due to lower ethanol blending and consumption and a rising number of ethanol producers slowing or idling production.

The state corn grower leaders urge the President to stop the harm caused by waivers and restore integrity to the RFS by directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to account for projected waivers beginning with the pending 2020 RFS volume rule.

Full text of the letter is below and available as a PDF here.

President Donald J. Trump

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Trump,

We are writing on behalf of the more than 300,000 corn farmers across the country who are being negatively impacted by a perfect storm of challenges in rural America. The 31 new Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) waivers to big oil companies, recently approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and bringing total waivers issued under your Administration to 85, could not have come at a worse time for agriculture.

Ethanol plants in several states, including Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota and Mississippi have closed or idled. These closures have cost 2,700 rural jobs and impacted demand for more than 300 million bushels of corn. Corn farmers are beginning harvest and continuing to lose markets to deliver their corn. Frustration in the countryside is growing.

Corn farmers are not asking for a special deal. We are simply asking, as we have been for the past two years, that your EPA uphold the law.

To effectively stop the harm caused by RFS waivers, EPA needs to account for projected waivers beginning with the pending 2020 RFS volume rule. Accounting for waivers in the annual RFS volume process restores integrity to the RFS. It also allows your Administration to continue granting waivers, as allowed by the law, while keeping the RFS whole.

While adding gallons and improving market access for higher blends of ethanol are all policies farmers appreciate and support, future waivers will continue to minimize the RFS, unless your Administration acts to account for waivers beginning this coming year first.

We were pleased to see press reports indicating that, following a meeting with farm-state lawmakers, an agreement had been reached to address the harm caused by waivers. With more than 4 billion gallons waived out of the RFS, we appreciate you listening to our elected representatives about what is needed to restore meaning to the RFS. Farmers across the country are anxiously awaiting the release of more details about this agreement. Ethanol plants will continue to close if you don’t act soon, creating a rippling effect throughout the rural economy.

Corn farmers are appreciative of your past support for agriculture and ethanol. We especially appreciate your efforts to remove the barrier to year-round sales of E15, but EPA’s current use of waivers undermines growth potential for higher blends of ethanol, reduces demand, lowers the value of our crop, and puts the outlook for the rural economy in jeopardy.

Mr. President, we firmly ask that you uphold your commitment to America’s farmers and the RFS.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Wilson, President, Alabama Soybean and Corn Association

Dave Eckhardt, President, Colorado Corn Growers Association

Rodney Harrell, President, Georgia Corn Growers Association

Ted Mottaz, President, Illinois Corn Growers Association

Sarah Delbecq, President, Indiana Corn Growers Association

Jim Greif, President, Iowa Corn Growers Association

Steve Rome, President, Kansas Corn Growers Association

Mark Roberts, President, Kentucky Corn Growers Association

Jason Condrey, President, Louisiana Cotton and Grain Association

Lenny Evan Miles, Jr., President, Maryland Grain Producers Association

Matt Frostic, President, Michigan Corn Growers Association

Brian Thalmann, President, Minnesota Corn Growers Association

Mike Pannell, President, Mississippi Corn Growers Association

Mark Scott, President, Missouri Corn Growers Association

Dan Nerud, President, Nebraska Corn Growers Association

Jason Swede, President, New York Corn and Soybean Growers Association

Alex Jordan, President, Corn Growers Association of North Carolina

Randy Melvin, President, North Dakota Corn Growers Association

Jon Miller, President, Ohio Corn and Wheat

Elizabeth Hinkel, President, Pennsylvania Corn Growers Association

Doug Noem, President, South Dakota Corn Growers Association

Wesley Spurlock, President, Texas Corn Producers Association

Doug Rebout, President, Wisconsin Corn Growers Association