SD Corn

The South Dakota Corn Growers Association supports today’s decision by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to not waive the Renewable Fuel Standard.

In yet another failed attempt by big oil to take down ethanol, America’s clean and renewable fuel, the statistics proved that even with the drought’s impact on corn production, the RFS is not harming the country as some had claimed in their waiver requests.

In the EPA’s efforts to determine whether or not a waiver was necessary, they analyzed over 500 scenarios, with 89% of the results showing that the RFS has little to no impact on corn, food or fuel prices. The EPA said that waiving the ethanol mandate would have only reduced corn prices by about 7 cents/bushel or 1%.

“Big Oil lost another round of attacks on ethanol today,” said SDCGA President Mark Gross. “The numbers prove that American ethanol saves consumers more than a dollar per gallon at the pump by adding over 13 billion gallons of additional fuel to the U.S. market, according to an Iowa State University study.”

Gross went on to say, “The RFS is good for farmers, good for South Dakotans and good for Americans. It provides another market for our corn, saves families money and reduces this nation’s dependence on foreign oil. Everyone wins.”

Simply put, the RFS is working. Since the RFS was implemented in 2006, the percentage of foreign oil imports in the United States has fallen by 15%.

By producing clean, renewable fuels like ethanol domestically, consumers saved an average of $1.09 per gallon on fuel across the nation in 2011. The renewable fuels industry employs over 400,000 hard-working Americans and has spurred rural development and millions in new tax revenues across the country.

For more information on the EPA’s decision, visit: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/documents/420f12075.pdf

In light of the numerous articles, discussions and commenting period dealing with the future of the Renewable Fuel Standard, we thought we would share our top 5 reasons to protect the RFS.

1.     Increased energy security

Since the implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard just a short seven years ago, imported oil’s share of domestic fuel consumption has declined by 15%. In 2011, ethanol displaced the need for 485 million barrels of foreign oil.

2.     Boosting rural economies

Jobs, jobs, jobs is all people seem to talk about these days as the 2012 election approaches. Did you know that the ethanol industry has created 400,000 jobs? It’s true, good-paying jobs that have sparked small towns adding new industries and tax revenues to rural communities across our country.

3.     Protecting the environment

In 2011, ethanol reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 25.3 million metric tons, the equivalent of removing 4 million cars from the road. Ethanol fuel is also endorsed by the American Lung Association because of the reduction in harmful pollutants that stem from petroleum-based fuels.

4.     Saving consumers money

Ethanol is priced lower than gasoline and provides a significant savings to consumers. In fact, during 2011 American drivers saved an average of $1.09/gallon and families saved an average total of $1,200 by just having ethanol in the market. If you don’t believe it, just check out what gas prices are in California where they don’t allow American ethanol made from corn.

5.     High efficiency feed

Did you know that for each bushel of corn used in ethanol production produces food and fuel? One-third is retained as distillers grains and this high-efficiency feed is becoming a vital forage ration on farms not only in the United States but around the world.

To show our support for the RFS, South Dakota Corn has submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency opposing the possible wavier. Read more about it at the link below:

SD Corn urges EPA to preserve Renewable Fuel Standard

National livestock organizations continue to attack American ethanol and the renewable fuel policies which have been put in place to encourage domestic energy production and provide American’s with a supply of clean-burning fuel. Attack after attack by sending letters to media and law makers about how ethanol is hurting their industry by causing a rise in input and retail costs. Well it’s time to share the other side of the story with facts instead of greed-driven fiction.

For far too long, these industries made billions in profits off of family farmers who raised their feed at a net loss which not only bankrupt thousands of producers, but cost the federal government plenty as well. Since ethanol production has increased, government support for farmers has declined.

The most recent attacks on ethanol have been targeted at the Renewable Fuels Standard, a policy put in place to ensure domestic energy security and save consumers money.

In regards to the ethanol policy’s effect on the cattle industry, a recent study out of Texas A&M revealed that the RFS has indeed not hurt producers as industry profits have risen since implementation.

The same organizations shedding tears about ethanol have producers saving money and increasing ration efficiency by utilizing ethanol’s co-product, distiller grains.

A recent article from Agriculture.com said, “DDG swine rations appear to be a success story within both the hog industry and the ethanol industry…they can save a little money with DDGs, sometimes they can save a lot.”

If you want to talk corn prices, according to the Farm and Policy Research Institute, ethanol’s market impact on corn prices totals $.53/bushel. And that will continue to fall as FAPRI lists the expiring ethanol tax credit, VEETC as being responsible for $.02/bushel of the total. Ethanol’s effect only goes so far as growing exports and appetites around the world also play into the rising corn prices, which have actually tailed off considerably since this summer.

In regard to retail meat prices, it’s funny how the groups fail to mention corn’s actual cost share of the meat you buy.

Our country continues to progress in terms of growing commodities and producing renewable energy as farmers continue to meet the demands for food and fuel. Limiting or diminishing that progress only sets our country back to having broke farmers and record foreign oil demands at the expense of many and the benefit of few. Its’ time for agriculture to work together as a whole with industries building off of each other in order to feed the world’s seven billion people and beyond.

How can America reduce its dependence on foreign oil, increase its energy security and create hundreds of thousands of green jobs? The answer is the Renewable Fuel Standard which has accomplished all of those feats in the matter of five short years.

A recent report from the EIA in May 2011 showed that the United States dependence on foreign oil fell from 60.3% in 2005 to 49.3% in 2010, 11% in just five years after implementing the RFS. In that same time, American ethanol production rose from 230,000 barrels per day to 779,000 barrels per day.

In 2010, using just 3% of the worlds grain, the United States  produced more than 13 billion gallons of ethanol which displaced the need for 445 million barrels of imported oil. More than the total imported amount from Saudi Arabia.

To produce that home grown energy, the industry needs skilled workers and lots of them. There is an estimated 400,000 direct and indirect employees in the ethanol business, good-paying jobs in rural America that will never be exported. Estimates from the Renewable Fuels Association show that 70,000 industry jobs were added in 2010.

The RFS is putting educated Americans to work, producing clean, domestic energy and weaning a country off of a dangerous addiction to dirty, foreign oil. The Renewable Fuel Standard is not just working in the United States, it’s thriving.

If you want to accomplish something, you set a goal and you find ways to achieve it. Right? Well not according to United States Representatives, Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Jim Costa (D-CA) who introduced a bill to tweak America’s Renewable Fuels Standard, our countries goal to become more energy independent. In their bill corn ethanol production targets could be knocked down by as much as 50% if the corn stocks to use ratio gets low.

The Renewable Fuels Standard was created for a reason, to decrease America’s dependence on foreign oil, which it has accomplished. America’s use of foreign oil has decreased by 10% during the past five years. Not only has it decreased our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, but it has created hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, lessened greenhouse gas emissions and boosted the American economy to the tune of nearly $54 billion per year.

This modification would simply be bad business. Implementing the changes to the RFS would not only hurt current industry progress, but make future private investments even less likely in the midst of attempting to build an advanced biofuels industry. Pulling the rug out from under a bright spot in a sluggish economy would be not only hurt biofuels, but raise gas prices and increase our dependence on dirty foreign fossil fuels.

The bill comes after recent cries about corn availability and prices from the meat industry in D.C. These groups have taken advantage of the American farmer’s cheap corn for decades and still are posting record profits as commodity prices have raised. Recent studies have shown that the RFS is indeed not hurting the cattle industries.

Altering our countries’ energy future based on fake tears of a few would do nothing but take a step backwards in our quest for energy independence, a cleaner environment and jobs for so many hard-working Americans.

While farmers have no control over the demand or price of their corn, they have been meeting demands for food, feed, fuel, fiber and export for decades with another big crop expected again this year.