Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., used a White House event Tuesday to reiterate once again that she’s not giving in to GOP demands to take money from the nutrition title to fund other provisions in a new farm bill. She also restated her opposition to repurposing conservation funding in the Inflation Reduction Act that’s restricted to climate-related farming practices.
Republicans in both the House and Senate have proposed to put restrictions on future updates of the Thrifty Food Plan, the economic model that’s used to set SNAP benefits. Doing so could save $30 billion over 10 years. “We’re just not going to do it. I'm not going to do it,” Stabenow said.
She went on, “They can stare me down all they want, it’s not going to make any difference. … They think I want a farm bill so bad that I’ll do anything.”
Stabenow, who isn’t running for re-election, said again that she’s prepared to leave the Senate without passing a new farm bill. “If that means we continue the policies of the 2018 farm bill, which are pretty good, if I do say so myself, then that's okay.”
Farm groups air WOTUS complaints
EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers continue to face tough questions from the ag community about their regulation of “waters of the United States,” including claims at a listening session Tuesday that the agencies are using “secret guidance.”
Courtney Briggs, a senior government affairs director at the American Farm Bureau Federation and chair of the Waters Advocacy Coalition, was among those seeking the guidance.
“Why won’t the Corps release this document? It is a resource that will allow landowners information on how this is being implemented,” she said at the session.
“The penalties for CWA compliance are hefty, so I don’t understand why you wouldn’t hand over every document and provide any resource possible to make sure our farmers and ranchers can easily comply. We have asked for it, I know the state of Virginia has asked for it and Congress has asked for it. So, I’m going to ask the question that everyone here is thinking…. why is this being kept hidden?”
EPA said in a statement that “guidance documents and memoranda used to implement the definition of ‘waters of the United States’ are posted publicly on EPA’s website.”
For more on the listening session, plus a look at where the renewable diesel boom is headed, check out the weekly Agri-Pulse newsletter.
Senators seek to get biofuels on ships
The Senate version of a bill aimed at getting ocean-going vessels has been introduced. The “Renewable Fuel for Ocean-Going Vessels Act,” led by Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, would allow fuel produced for ships to earn credits under the Renewable Fuel Standard. A House bill was introduced earlier.
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Biofuels for ocean-going vessels are currently excluded from the definition of transportation fuels under the RFS. EPA would still need to increase the renewable volume obligations to accommodate the increased usage.
“There would be no guarantee that RVOs would be adjusted as part of the change, but we want to make sure that all markets that could conceivably use biomass-based diesel have the ability to get the same credits under the program,” according to industry economist Jonathan Martin.
Analyst: Airlines hold real potential for ethanol
An economist at the University of California, Davis, Andrew Swanson, says sustainable aviation fuel is a realistic new market for the corn ethanol, provided the industry can take a number of steps to lower its carbon intensity.
Carbon sequestration pipelines are one of those measures but they’re capital intensive and projects have struggled to get approval from landowners and some regulators. In the meantime, Swanson says smaller adjustments could help lower ethanol’s carbon intensity score.
Those steps include “increasing the mix of wet distillers grains relative to dry distillers grains, using more efficient yeasts, and converting corn fiber into ethanol … While ethanol producers wait for expensive, time-consuming investments to pan out, these smaller adjustments could provide a bridge to lower carbon ethanol.”
Keep in mind: Friday is the Biden administration’s self-imposed deadline for announcing an update of the GREET model that will be used to measure the carbon intensity of feedstocks that can qualify for SAF tax credits. The model is expected to allow for SAF made from lower carbon corn ethanol. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and EPA Administrator Michael Regan are scheduled to speak Friday at Commodity Classic, the annual meeting and trade show for grain and oilseed groups and equipment manufacturers.
By the way: All six members of Iowa’s congressional delegation on Tuesday wrote to Regan with concerns about the 2025 start date for allowing year-round E15 sales in eight Midwestern states. They asked him to instead implement the new rule at the end of next month.
USDA to educate poultry growers on new rule
The Agricultural Marketing Service will host a webinar March 7 to provide information to poultry growers on a rule that imposes new regulations on contracting in the industry. The rule is designed to increase transparency and prevent discrimination in the industry.
She said it: “Shoot me now. It’s getting harder and harder and harder.” – Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., telling a White House audience that it’s getting progressively more difficult to pass farm bills.
