The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to release the next proposed set of renewable volume obligations for fuels this morning, with briefings scheduled for Hill offices and industry leaders ahead of the official release.
Biofuel groups have been anxiously awaiting the volumes after the Biden administration missed the Nov. 1 statutory deadline.
Reuters reported that the proposed volumes for biomass-based diesel may fall below the 5.25 billion gallon request by a unique coalition of oil, biofuel and farm groups. In response, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, posted on social media that he hoped these reports are not true. “If Pres Trump wants 5 closed biodiesel plants to reopen & jobs in rural America we’ve got to hv the 5.25 billion for biodiesel,” he wrote.
A source familiar with the rule’s development said EPA has been very engaged and open throughout the process, and there’s still optimism that the proposed RVOs will be comparable with the unified ask from industry groups.
Take note: The proposal is also expected to include a discounted renewable identification number for imports, according to sources. It’s unclear if this would extend just to imported finished fuel or imported feedstocks. But it could mean a boost for domestic biofuels.
Senate beats House on farm program spending
The Senate Ag Committee has upped the ante when it comes to the One Big Beautiful Bill. The House version would add just under $60 billion to farm programs while saving a net $258 billion through cuts to SNAP.
The Senate bill would add about $67 billion for farm programs while saving a net $144 billion, according to committee staff.
The biggest difference between the bills is that the Senate version doesn't include a cost-saving floor under the Price Loss Coverage program’s reference price for corn. Not including that floor would cost an estimated $4 billion over 10 years, a committee aide says.
The Senate bill, unlike the House bill, would also boost the escalator provision for PLC reference prices. And the Senate version would allow farmers who buy the supplemental coverage option on their insurance policies to also enroll in the Agriculture Risk Coverage program.
On SNAP: The Senate bill also adjusts SNAP work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents. Under the Senate version, a person with a child 10 years or older is eligible for the work requirement. Under the House version, the age is seven.
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Committee aides say the change was made because of concerns raised privately and in the House. Additionally, some state laws may prevent parents from leaving a child under the age of 10 alone.
The House Agriculture Committee’s top Democrat, Angie Craig of Minnesota, wasn’t satisfied with the change. She says 10-year-old kids aren’t equipped to take care of themselves while a parent is at work.
House passes rescissions package cutting food, ag aid
The House has narrowly passed, 214-212, a $94 billion rescissions package that would cancel previously approved spending for some food and agricultural programs formerly run by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The legislation would scrap $2.5 billion in the agency’s development assistance account that has helped fund the Feed the Future initiative.
It’s unclear whether the package can pass the Senate.
Cuts to food aid, Feed the Future labs hurt US farmers
Cuts to foreign food aid will hurt U.S. producers and allow other countries such as China to fill the void, Democratic senators said at an event held Thursday.
Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the top Democrats on the Ag and Foreign Relations committees, spoke alongside a panel of food aid experts to highlight $3 billion in proposed budget rescissions.
Two-thirds of that is for commodity purchases from U.S. farmers and ranchers of 1.1 million metric tons of sorghum, corn, beans, rice and vegetable oil intended for 45 million people in 35 countries.
Another $1 billion is for 17 Feed the Future innovation labs at 13 universities. Only one is now operating, at Kansas State.
“U.S. foreign assistance strengthens the agricultural economy of rural America while reducing the burden of American taxpayers over the long term through conflict prevention and economic stabilization,” said Thoric Cederstrom, international food aid representative for the U.S. Dry Bean Council.
The event is available to watch here.
Hyde-Smith details ‘intense’ meeting with RFK Jr.
Members of the Senate Ag Committee, including Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., met with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week to voice concerns about the Make America Healthy Again Commission report.
"We cannot afford for crops to fail," Hyde-Smith tells Agri-Pulse Newsmakers. "We have worked so hard to put millions of dollars into research to have these tools available to us. Then to mention things in the MAHA report that could cause some type of confidence that's lost in consumers? I think it's pretty unfair."
Smith says that during the "pretty intense discussion," she advocated for the continued safe use of crop protection tools and was reassured by Kennedy that stakeholder input would be considered to develop the commission's next report.
Hear more from Sen. Hyde-Smith, Katie Naessens with Torrey Advisory Group and Ken Barbic with Invariant about the Senate Ag Committee's reconciliation text on this week’s Newsmakers.
MAHA leaders urge Congress to reject ag subsidies
Some people associated with the “Make America Healthy Again” movement are calling on Congress to strip $75 billion in subsidies for “pesticide-intensive commodity crops” in the House’s reconciliation bill.
Instead, the money should go to programs that have been shown “to enhance soil health and support regenerative organic agriculture, including the National Organic Program, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service initiatives, and organic research and transition assistance,” nearly 300 groups and leaders say in a letter.
The letter also calls on the Senate MAHA Caucus to stand firm against legislation that would grant federal preemption of state pesticide laws or provide liability shields to pesticide manufacturers.
“The bill is a massive bailout for Big Ag with no strings attached at a time when we need to make a massive shift to better farming practices,” said Dave Murphy, founder of United We Eat.
Final word
“To come in here with guns blazing and what you're taking out are hard-working dairymen … it's just wrong. They need to knock it off. Let's go after the criminals. I think the president agrees. I don't know where the disconnect is. It must be somebody a little lower in the food chain that's making those mistakes.” — House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn "GT" Thompson, commenting on an ICE raid in New Mexico that resulted in 11 arrests.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that farmworkers who are in the country illegally shouldn't be deported.
Rebekah Alvey, Philip Brasher and Oliver Ward contributed to today’s Daybreak.
