A coalition of livestock and poultry groups is calling on Congress to reform the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).
The request follows the release of a new economic study which contends that, while the RFS mandate has been a major factor in higher commodity prices, it has had a minimal impact on oil imports and gasoline prices.
In urging reform of the RFS, the coalition cited the study’s conclusion that the mandate should be revised to allow automatic adjustments to reduce incentives for ethanol production when corn stocks are forecast to reach critically low levels. The adjustments would be based on the corn stocks-to-use ratio.
The coalition of livestock and poultry organizations sponsored the study, which was conducted by FarmEcon LLC, an Indiana-based agricultural and food industry consulting firm.
Coalition members include the American Meat Institute, California Dairies Inc., the Milk Producers Cooperative, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Chicken Council, National Pork Producers Council, and the National Turkey Federation.
Corn and ethanol groups were quick to react to the study and the coalition’s request. The American Coalition for Ethanol accused the groups of “shamelessly exploiting the drought as an excuse to roll back the RFS.” The National Corn Growers Association said “the market is working—all corn users are responding to market signals” and stressed that “now is not the time for changes.”
Link to news release on National Pork Producers Council web site (includes a link to the study)
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