As another one of these RFS meetings takes place at the White House today, and Iowa Secretary of Ag Mike Naig has written a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Purdue and here it is:
Dear Secretary Perdue,
As you meet with President Trump and EPA Administrator Pruitt next Monday, I ask you to continue to work to protect the RFS and urge President Trump to stop actions by the EPA and Administrator Pruitt that are putting the hard-won progress on renewable fuels at risk.
Specifically, I ask that you encourage the President to reject any waiver or cap on RINs. This directly undermines the RFS and the promises you and the President have made to protect it.
In addition, immediate approval of year-round E15 sales is the right step to fulfill the President’s promise to end restrictions on higher blends of ethanol while also addressing the concerns raised by some in the oil industry about RIN prices.
A strong and effective RFS is critically important to Iowa. Our state’s 43 ethanol plants and 12 biodiesel facilities are a vital market for the corn and soybeans we raise so well and create good jobs in our rural communities.
Iowa’s biofuels industry has added $11.5 billion to our state’s economy, generated $4 billion in new household income and created and supported over 62,000 jobs.
Unfortunately, our state’s rural economy has been challenged by four years of declining farmer profitability. China’s recently announced tariffs targeting a number of Iowa ag products is creating additional economic uncertainty.
Any action to undermine the RFS puts our agriculture industry at even greater risk.
In agriculture spring is a very hopeful time, but as Iowa farmers get ready enter the fields and plant their crops this year there is significant economic uncertainty being felt across the state. I ask you to continue to be a strong voice on behalf of agriculture and encourage the President to take these steps to protect the RFS as you meet next week.
Sincerely,
Mike Naig
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture