The House is back from recess and so is the pressure to get an E15 bill finished and onto the floor for a vote.
Farmers from the Corn Belt are on Capitol Hill starting Tuesday to push for year-round sales of higher ethanol-fuel blends, known as E15. See our Washington Week Ahead for more.
This week? A House E15 bill could be unveiled as soon as Monday, according to Rep. Randy Feenstra.
The Iowa Republican told Agri-Pulse he expects E15 to be introduced this week. Feenstra co-chairs the congressional council tasked with finding a way forward on the thorny biofuel issue.
The Republican council was created in January after proposed legislation was scrapped. Independent oil refiners objected to a provision to limit small refinery exemptions from biofuel-blending laws.
Some farm-state lawmakers are ramping up calls for E15 amid war with Iran that’s sending fuel, fertilizer and other ag input costs surging.
Corn politics: If E15 gets close but fails again, expect Democrats to go after Republicans in key rural races in this year’s elections.
The House Ag Committee’s top Democrat, Minnesota’s Angie Craig, likened the E15 stalemate to “Lucy with the football,” a reference to a recurring gag in Peanuts where Lucy pulls a football away just as Charlie Brown is about to kick it.
The analogy came up this month when Democrats unsuccessfully tried to get E15 added to a farm bill. Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson said he supports E15, but that it’s not in the ag committee’s jurisdiction.
“I would remind everybody, the only time that year-round E15 sales got through the House of Representatives it was under a Democratic-controlled Congress,” Craig said, referring to a bill passed in 2022 that then stalled in the Senate.
Craig is running for Senate in Minnesota. Feenstra is running for governor of Iowa, the top ethanol-producing state.
Senate solution? North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven, chair of the Appropriations ag subcommittee, told Agri-Pulse there are currently two options for E15:
- Add it to some sort of supplemental funding bill that also includes economic aid for farmers.
- Attach it to an upcoming farm bill in the Senate Ag Committee, of which Hoeven is a member.
But, but, but: No matter how E15 might get through Congress, the issue of small refinery exemptions must be worked out. “If we can resolve that, we’re good to go,” Hoeven said.
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US inks trade pact with Ecuador
The U.S. has signed a trade pact with Ecuador that will see tariffs reduced on more than 90% of U.S. ag exports to the country.
As part of the deal, Ecuador scrapped tariffs on soybeans, fruit, alcoholic drinks, certain meat products and tree nuts, a fact sheet says. The country will also create an automatic renewal process for ag product import licenses, recognize U.S. certification in the meat and dairy sectors, and protect generic meat and cheese names.
The deal text says Ecuador will also establish tariff-rate quotas for corn, sorghum, soybean oil, ethanol, poultry, pork and dairy to allow a limited quantity of products to enter tariff-free.
The U.S. exported around $555 million of ag products to Ecuador in 2024, with more than $200 million of soybean meal and $84 million of wheat, the Commerce Department says.
Attorneys general try to pause global tariff while case plays out
A group of Democratic attorneys general are pushing the Court of International Trade to block Trump’s 10% global tariff or pause the duties while a longer case plays out.
The group filed a motion for a summary judgment on Friday or, if that fails, a preliminary injunction.
“In short, the president’s attempt to exercise enormous tariff authority and the implementation of his Proclamation exceed Section 122’s limits and violate the separation of powers,” thwe filing reads.
Importers in the 24 states that have signed on to the case stand to pay $748 million a year under the new duties, a press release from Arizona AG Kris Mayes notes.
“Families and businesses across Arizona, now dealing with skyrocketing gas prices due to Trump's war in Iran, shouldn't have to spend another day paying his illegal taxes,” Mayes argued in a statement.
Administration eases restrictions on Venezuelan fertilizer to curb rising prices
The Trump administration is lifting some restrictions on purchases of Venezuelan fertilizer and U.S. support and investment in the sector.
The conflict in Iran has spurred sharp price rises in nitrogen fertilizer markets and triggered availability fears. However, it’s unclear how much price relief Venezuela could provide. Despite urea capacity of about 2 million tons, the country’s exports have fallen sharply in recent years, hitting 400,000 metric tons in 2025, according to Argus, a company that provides commodity market intelligence.
In addition to easing restrictions on Venezuela, the administration said it is considering waiving shipping requirements to help move product within the U.S.
But analysts told Agri-Pulse on Friday that the administration does not have good policy options to swiftly bring prices in check.
“Unfortunately, these events are global in nature and outside of our ability to change them immediately,” StoneX’s Josh Linville said in an email.
Independent Commodity Intelligence Services’s Mark Milam said that until the conflict ends and ships are able to load and move product through the Strait of Hormuz, prices will continue to rise.
Prices “are going to continue to go up as long as there is this conflict going on,” Milam said in an interview. As first applications wrap up in the next couple of weeks, Milam said he expects an additional rush of demand as buyers restock.
JBS workers begin strike in Colorado
Workers at a major JBS beef processing facility in Greeley, Colorado, are on strike in a dispute over wages, equipment expenses and other points of contention in their discussions with the company.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 union began striking at 5:30 a.m. today. UFCW Local 7 represents around 3,800 members that work at the Greeley plant, according to local union president Kim Cordova. In addition to wage increases, union members are seeking changes to a company policy that charges them for lost or stolen equipment.
The facility processes between 5,000 and 6,000 cattle daily, according to the Greeley Tribune.
“Our fight is not with the cattlemen,” Cordova told Agri-Pulse in an interview Friday. "Our fight isn't with anybody. It's about protecting these workers, making sure they have a safe place to work, that they're not being exploited, and that they are being compensated fairly."
Final word
“You have not only the impact of physical product not being able to move through, and that creating rising demand that leads to higher costs in the markets, then we have the added impact of petroleum and then the uncertainty. … All of that is stacked up against the farmer.” Rob Larew, discussing the impact of the war in Iran on farmers on Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Jeff Nalley.
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