Farmers are eagerly awaiting release of the latest biofuel-blending mandates, and many producers will be gathering at the White House on Friday amid the struggling ag economy. The U.S. trade representative will be in Africa for three days of talks at the World Trade Organization’s 14th ministerial conference.
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to soon release the 2026 and 2027 biofuel requirements, also known as renewable volume obligations, or RVOs.
However, the Office of Management and Budget has yet to release the RVO rule to EPA and has meetings on the issue scheduled with stakeholders through this Thursday, when Michael Kampeter, co-founder of Diamond Pet Foods, is set to meet with OMB representatives.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s back-to-back speaking engagements on Monday and Tuesday will be scrutinized for any hints on what the two-year Renewable Fuel Standard rule may look like. Zeldin speaks at the annual Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit on Monday and then at a National Ag Day event on Tuesday.
The Agri-Pulse summit at the National Press Club also will feature the Trump administration’s chief agricultural negotiator, Julie Callahan, and leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees.
Biofuel companies have struggled in recent years amid Biden-era RVOs that the industry says were far too low, and policy uncertainty that still persists. Corn and soybean farmers are counting on strong quotas to help boost demand after three straight years of lower income.
Some farmers may get a chance to air their views directly to President Donald Trump. The president is hosting an event with what’s expected to be hundreds of producers on the White House lawn Friday.
The spotlight on agriculture coincides with the war in the Middle East that’s driving up costs for essential farming inputs like fertilizer just as spring planting season is set to begin in North America.
Biofuel mandate jitters
Corn and soybean growers are hoping the new biofuel-blending mandates can provide some needed economic relief. The agency’s proposal last June included the highest RVO ever for bio-based diesel, a heavy transportation fuel often made with soybean oil.
EPA’s plan would discourage U.S. production of biofuels made from foreign feedstocks, like Chinese used cooking oil and Brazilian tallow. If finalized, only 50% of the value for an RFS credit, known as a RIN, would be given for fuels made with raw materials from outside the U.S.
Soybean growers and processors are lobbying hard for the “half-RIN,” saying it’s needed to protect farmers from being undercut by imports. The issue gained major political attention starting a few years ago, when Chinese used cooking oil flooding the U.S. market was widely suspected as really being fresh Asian palm oil, which is barred from the Renewable Fuel Standard due to emissions, labor and other factors.
Fuel producers are arguing against the “half-RIN,” saying it would hurt competitiveness and lead to higher costs for consumers.
EPA also is under intense scrutiny for how it decides to handle reallocation of blending volumes exempted for small refineries from 2023 to 2025. Renewable fuel producers and ag groups are pushing hard for 100% reallocation.
But there are “a lot of rumors it will be less,” American Coalition for Ethanol CEO Brian Jennings tells Agri-Pulse.
EPA also is expected to soon issue a waiver for summertime sales of higher ethanol blends, known as E15, as the U.S. war with Iran disrupts the gasoline market. Current law doesn’t allow the sales due to previous pollution concerns that are now viewed as outdated.
The courts have said only Congress can make year-round E15 permanent, but pro-biofuel lawmakers haven’t been successful, prompting bitter outcry from the National Corn Growers Association and a host of other groups.
Funding stalemate continued through weekend
With a two-week Easter recess in sight, senators were working this weekend amid a logjam over Trump’s demand that Congress pass a bill that would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote. The chamber also has been dealing with a partisan impasse over immigration policy that’s led to a five-week partial shutdown of the Homeland Security Department and led to long lines at airports.
The Senate’s rare weekend sessions came as Congress faces a two-week recess starting March 30.
USTR on site as WTO struggles for relevancy
Trade ministers will descend on Yaoundé, Cameroon, on Thursday for the WTO conference. The consensus-based organization has struggled in recent years to make headway on addressing many of the most pressing trade issues. The strain has only intensified since Trump returned to office and ran roughshod over one of the WTO’s core principles: nondiscrimination in tariff rates.
A spokesperson for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative told Agri-Pulse on Wednesday that USTR Jamieson Greer is planning to attend.
Agriculture talks have been stalled for years, and a recent document on reviving the talks continues to face opposition. But U.S. agriculture will still likely have plenty at stake in the talks.
Many members are hoping to extend – or in the U.S.’ case, make permanent – a tariff moratorium on digital trade transactions set to expire this month. India has previously pushed for making its support for extending the moratorium contingent on securing protections for its rice subsidy program.
The U.S. will need to “hold the line,” on Indian efforts to secure protections for its public stockholding program for rice, USA Rice Federation President and CEO Peter Bachmann told the House Ways and Means Committee last week. There can be “no backsliding,” he said.
The diplomatic drama is already underway before ministers have touched down on the African continent, however. On Saturday, Taiwan announced that it would not participate in the ministerial after hosts Cameroon listed Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” on travel documents.
The Taiwanese government argued the designation "seriously undermined" Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member by suggesting it falls under the sovereignty of China.
Here is a list of agriculture or rural-related events scheduled for this week in Washington and elsewhere (all times EDT):
Monday, March 23
Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Policy Summit – ”Profit, Policy, and Possibility: Mapping the Future of Market Expansion for U.S. Agriculture,”, National Press Club.
National Grain and Feed Association annual meeting, through Tuesday, Nashville, Tennessee.
International Dairy Foods Association Women’s Summit, through Wednesday.
10 a.m. – The Atlantic Council event with former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell on what to expect from Trump’s forthcoming Beijing visit.
Tuesday, March 24
Bloomberg Industries’ Farm, Food & Fuel Summit, through Wednesday, Kansas City, Missouri.
9:30 a.m. – Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall and others speak at a USDA event marking the 53rd annual National Ag Day
5:30 p.m. – Taste of Ag reception, Russell 325.
Wednesday, March 25
8:30 a.m. – Politico Economy Summit, featuring White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., 1001 14th Street NW.
Thursday, March 26
8:30 a.m. – USDA releases Weekly Export Sales.
9 a.m. – The American Enterprise Institute will host an event on “Feeding the World in the 21st Century.”
11:30 a.m. – Agri-Pulse webinar, ”How Phosphate CVDs Squeeze U.S. Farmers and Threaten Food Security.”
12 p.m. – University of Illinois webinar, “Fertilizer and Fuel Risks as a Result of the Iran Conflict.”
3 p.m. – The Cato Institute forum, “Congress, the Balance of Payments, and Tariff Reform.”
Friday, March 27
President Donald Trump hosts farmers and ranchers at the White House.
For more news, go to Agri-Pulse.com.
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