Ohio Corn Growers

Farmers, ethanol industry ask EPA to approve E12 immediately

Three major farmer and ethanol groups this week called on Environmental Protection Agency Administrator (EPA) Lisa Jackson to formally approve the use of E12 (12% ethanol) in the nation’s gasoline supply. The groups, American Coalition for Ethanol, National Corn Growers Association and the Renewable Fuels Association, in a formal letter to the EPA Administrator wrote, “based on the EPA’s delay in acting upon the full E15 waiver and on our concerns that the Agency will restrict the use of E15 to cars made in 2001 and thereafter, we encourage the EPA to formally approve the use of E12 for all motor vehicles as an immediate interim step pending any ongoing additional testing on E15.”

The groups pointed to President Obama’s stated goal of reducing reliance on oil imports and reiterated that expanded use of domestically produced ethanol will help accomplish that goal. According to the letter, “Decreasing dependence on foreign oil is a key to this country’s environmental, energy and security policy, and the EPA must provide a practical and workable solution to the ethanol blend wall issue and do so soon. Allowing E12 for all motor vehicles as an interim step to a full waiver for E15 is a reasonable and defensible first step to solve the immediate problem.”

The groups’ letter reviewed previous EPA findings, policy positions and research to demonstrate the reasonableness of approving E12 for use in the nation’s automobile and light truck fleet.

“The EPA has a clear basis and the authority to approve E12. While we think delay on E15 is unnecessary and will slow progress on expanding the use of ethanol, we all agree that approval of E12 is a vital interim step that EPA can and should take,” the groups wrote. All three groups remain fully committed to efforts to approve the use of E15 for all vehicles.

Read the letter in its entirety here.

OCGA, OWGA talk ethanol, farm bill with Vilsack

DELAWARE, OH - Representatives of the Ohio Corn Growers Association (OCGA) and the Ohio Wheat Growers Association (OWGA) were included in an agriculture round table meeting sponsored by U.S. Representative John Boccieri (D-OH), with special guest U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The roundtable, which was held at the Wooster campus of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), focused on rural development, markets, the farm bill and biofuels.

Vilsack noted that rural development, including the use and production of biofuels, "adds security to America."

Biofuels have created 800,000 to 900,000 jobs in the rural sector, he said.

Rep. Boccieri, who recently voted in Congress for one-way trade with Cuba, talked about the need to expand markets for grain.

OCGA's Anthony Bush and OWGA President Mark Wacthman spoke with Vilsack on current farm bill programs, including ACRE.

"A county-to-county approach rather than a statewide system might make more sense [in making ACRE easier for farmers]," Bush said.

On Tuesday, July 20 Sec. Vilsack, Gov. Ted Strickland, OCGA Executive Director Dwayne Siekman, OCGA Director of Government and Industry Relations' Tadd Nicholson, representatives of Growth Energy and the Ohio Ethanol Producers Association toured Marion, Ohio's POET biorefining plant, where the need for getting more ethanol into the American fuel supply was discussed.

See the photos on our Flickr account:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52327913@N03/

Vilsack on E15: 'I believe it will happen'

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland visited POET Biorefining -- Marion (Ohio) this week to discuss with government and industry leaders ways to increase clean, homegrown ethanol use.

Vilsack and Strickland took part in a roundtable discussion with groups including POET, the Ohio Corn Growers Association, Ohio Ethanol Producers Association and the Ohio Department of Agriculture as well as the federal Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Ethanol has a positive impact on rural economies, national security and the environment Vilsack said, and there's room to grow.

"We are working at USDA to develop a roadmap for how to build that [ethanol] nationwide industry," he said. "We understand it starts with allowing the capacity we have today to maximize its input. That means increasing the blend rate to 15 percent. I have been advocating for that, will continue to advocate for that, and I believe it will happen. Obviously I wish it had had happened now, but I believe it will happen sometime this fall."

Strickland said he's seen those effects in Ohio.

"POET is a great company," Strickland said. "I'm glad it's in Ohio and I will continue to support the industry."

For photos of the visit, go to POET's flickr page.

Congress introduces Renewable Fuels Liability Legislation

From the National Association of Convenience Stores: http://www.nacsonline.com/NACS/News/Daily/Pages/ND0721101.aspx

WASHINGTON – NACS yesterday commended U.S. Representatives Mike Ross (D-AR) and John Shimkus (R-IL) for introducing legislation (H.R. 5778) that seeks to ensure retail motor fuels equipment is safe and legally compatible to sell renewables fuels greater than E10 and B5.

The renewable fuels standard (RFS) established by Congress in 2007 requires the use of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels (such as ethanol) in motor fuels by 2022. However, the law did not take into account infrastructure roadblocks that limit the amount of renewable fuels that can be sold through existing retail motor fuels outlets.
Currently, it is illegal for retailers to store and sell any fuel with greater than 10 percent ethanol (including E85) or more than 5 percent biodiesel using existing infrastructure. Retailers must use equipment certified by a nationally recognized testing laboratory like Underwriters Laboratories (UL) as compatible with the fuel they are selling. Failure to do so exposes the retailer to claims of gross negligence liability, violation of local fire codes and OSHA regulations, violation of tank insurance and state tank fund policy requirements, and provisions contained in many business loan agreements. As of July 15, 2010, there were only 2 certified dispensers to sell E85 and only 2 certified dispensers to sell up to E25.

On Tuesday, Reps. Ross and Shimkus introduced H.R. 5778, the Renewable Fuels Marketing Act of 2010, to authorize a new pathway for retailers to sell renewable fuels. The bill will enable retailers to have existing equipment evaluated and legally approved to sell new renewable fuels and will expedite the approval of new equipment. It also will protect retailers from Clean Air Act violations and liability associated with self-service consumers fueling unapproved engines with higher blends of renewable fuels.

This legislation will open the door to the marketing of additional renewable fuels consistent with the RFS, avoid imposing unsustainable costs on petroleum retailers, and remove the certainty of litigation from the market. This legislation does not in any way absolve a retailer from liability or obligations under federal and state environmental laws that arise from a “release” of motor fuels.
NACS, along with NATSO (Representing America’s Travel Plazas and Truckstops), Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA), Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA), sent a letter to Congress communicating support for H.R. 5778.

“The Renewable Fuels Marketing Act is a critical step towards removing some of the obstacles that stand in the way of increasing the availability of renewable fuels at petroleum retail outlets across the nation and will greatly facilitate the successful [RFS] implementation,” noted the letter.

To learn more about H.R. 5778, read the attached summary. If you have any questions, contact NACS Vice President of Government Relations John Eichberger.

Former legislative aide joins OCGA, OWGA

Delaware, OH – The Ohio Corn Growers Association (OCGA) and the Ohio Wheat Growers Association (OWGA), along with their respective marketing boards, welcomes a new hire this week.

Jack Irvin is the new Director of Research and Community Affairs for the organizations. In the role of Director of Community Affairs, Irvin will develop and mobilize a network of grassroots volunteer members in Ohio. He will work face-to-face with growers in Ohio, both members and non-members, to coordinate grassroots activism programs with the goal of creating and increasing opportunities for corn and wheat growers.

Irvin will coordinate with national groups such as the National Corn Growers Association and National Association of Wheat Growers and grower members of national activism programs.

“As the two corn and wheat organizations continue to grow it’s become apparent that we need someone in the state coordinating an army of growers and getting information out to our constituents and activating them when key legislative and market development opportunities arise,” said OCGA and OWGA Executive Director Dwayne Siekman.

Irvin’s role as Director of Research will be focused on research projects and programs of the Ohio Corn Marketing Program and the Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program boards.

Irvin has worked for the Ohio senate as a legislative aide for senators Doug White and Tom Niehaus. Irvin also worked as a legislative aide to Sen. Larry Mumper, who was chairman of the Senate Ag Committee.

A Chagrin Falls, Ohio native, Irvin studied business at Miami University.

OCGA board members receive legislative support for ethanol tax credit

Grassroots lobbying pays off for OCGA in Washington, D.C.

DELAWARE, OH – With the future of corn ethanol hanging in the balance in Congress, the Ohio Corn Growers Association’s (OCGA) recent grassroots lobbying trip to Washington, D.C. garnered crucial support for an ethanol blender’s tax credit, known as VEETC (Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Extension). The legislation continues the current tax credit for entities that blend ethanol with gasoline.

This week U.S. Representative Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH), of Ohio’s 15th congressional district, signed on as a co-sponsor for the Renewable Fuels Reinvestment Act (HR 4940) that would extend key ethanol tax incentives through the year 2015, including the $0.45 per gallon blenders credit for ethanol use.

“Current ethanol tax policies are working to build out the industry, expand infrastructure, and provide the foundation for new technologies to thrive,” said OCGA President John Davis, a Delaware County farmer.

Davis was among a group of farmer board members in Washington D.C. the week of July 14th. The group included Brent Hostetler of Union County, Bill Berg of Auglaize County, Gene Baumgardner of Fayette County, Anthony Bush of Morrow County, Mark Schweibert of Henry County and Paul Herringshaw of Wood County and OCGA staff members.

OCGA Executive Director Dwayne Siekman says corn growers believe the extension of VEETC is vital to the industry. “As our board and voting delegates visited with members of Congress this week it was apparent to many in Congress that the need for market certainty is vital to job creation and the ethanol blender’s extension is in the best interests of the rural economy, environment and energy security,” said Siekman.

The biggest reason to continue the tax incentives is jobs, according to Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen. “Losing the tax incentive now will shutter plants and cost tens of thousands of jobs. This is a serious discussion with real world implications. Numerous ideas exists and due diligence must be done to ensure the right ideas are put together so as to foster the continued growth of this industry.”

OCGA also stressed the importance of the need for higher ethanol blends, and the need for atrazine, a vital herbicide used for growing corn that is under scrutiny by some environmentalists.

“Corn growers are facing tough issues with some reviews by the EPA that are unfounded,” Siekman said. “This is a crucial time for grassroots efforts in letting Congress and the EPA know where we stand.”

About Ohio Corn Growers Association 
The Ohio Corn Growers Association represents the interests of more than 20,000 corn growers throughout the state. OCGA works in Washington, D.C., and at the Ohio Statehouse to ensure that government participation in legislation is beneficial to Ohio's growers. Farmers provide food, feed and fuel to power Ohio. For more information, visit http://www.ohiocorn.org.

Industry supports continuation of ethanol tax incentives

From NCGA's corncommentary.com

The tax credit for blenders to use ethanol came under fire this week with the release of a critical report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

The report, “Using Biofuels Tax Credits to Achieve Energy and Environmental Policy Goals,” found that it costs taxpayers $1.78 to reduce gasoline consumption by one gallon using corn ethanol. The cost rises to $3 with ethanol made from crop residue and other forms of plant cellulose, for which there is a $1.01 per gallon tax credit.

However, the Renewable Fuels Association says the report takes the issue of ethanol tax incentives out of context.

“It may seem penny-wise, but would be pound-foolish to dismiss the benefits of current biofuels in light of the havoc wrought by our dependence on fossil fuels,” said RFA president Bob Dinneen. “All comprehensive analyses demonstrate that ethanol provides a real world, cost effective tool to reduce dependence on oil and create domestic jobs. Additionally, as CBO rightly notes, ethanol also reduces carbon emissions compared to gasoline.”

However, as corn growers were meeting on Capitol Hill this week, even their good friends were telling them that the blenders tax credit, technically known as the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit or VEETC, may not be extended at the end of the year – or at least not for more than a year.

In the face of that possibility, ethanol organization Growth Energy has proposed redirecting and eventually phasing out that tax credit in return for increasing infrastructure investment that would “level the playing field with fossil fuels and give consumers true freedom to choose their fuel.”

The rest of those with a stake in the industry – both agriculture and ethanol – were quick to disagree with that approach. The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), the National Sorghum Producers, and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) issued a joint press release Thursday reaffirming support for the extension of current ethanol tax incentives through 2015.

ACE Executive Vice President Brian Jennings says it’s too late to consider alternatives this year. “We have talked to policymakers about alternatives to VEETC. The universal response we have received from our champions on Capitol Hill is that while some of those alternatives are interesting, those alternatives cannot possibly be adopted at this stage in the legislative calendar, with just about 30 days remaining until Congress adjourns for the mid-term elections,” said Jennnings.

NCGA President Darrin Ihnen says corn growers believe extension of the VEETC is vital to the industry. “As our board and voting delegates visited with members of Congress this week it was apparent that time is short and extension is in the best interests of the corn industry,” said Ihnen.

The biggest reason to continue the tax incentives is jobs, according to RFA president Bob Dinneen. “Losing the tax incentive now will shutter plants and cost tens of thousands of jobs. This is a serious discussion with real world implications. Numerous ideas exists and due diligence must be done to ensure the right ideas are put together so as to foster the continued growth of this industry.”

ACE, NCGA and RFA are already putting industry money to work to increase the number of blender pumps around the country through the BYO Ethanol campaign. There is legislation in Congress calling for more blender pumps and more Flex Fuel Vehicles to use higher blends. The concern is that agreeing to a phase out of the tax incentive at this point might backfire on the industry very quickly. Better to hold on to what is working now and figure out a new direction later when there is more time.

Why don't we have more ethanol?

Fresh Country Air

By Matt Reese

July 2010

The images from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are fueling the fires of outrage around the world. One look at the floundering wildlife mired in a black sheen, empty boats symbolizing a docked fishing industry and the grim faces of those in the coastal tourism business paints a bleak picture of our current and future domestic energy supply that is so heavily dependant on oil.

But no matter how upset you are by these terrible images and the extensive long term ecological damage that will result from this massive disaster, one fact remains: as we move forward, we are going to need more energy. The day when America wakes up to find that it no longer needs any oil is not coming any time soon, and in the meantime we need to seek out new and less disaster-ridden energy alternatives.
Congress is gearing up vigorous discussion of a new energy bill and at the same time, the Ohio Corn Growers Association (OCGA) is asking, “Why not more ethanol?”

“Corn growers believe a strong commitment to domestic energy production can supply the nation’s thirst for dependable, safe and abundant energy. The country already has one dependable and safe energy product that will help us reach the nation’s domestic energy goals. Ethanol is here, ethanol is now and ethanol is part of our future,” said Dwayne Siekman, CEO of OCGA. “We want everybody to realize the economic benefits of ethanol. There is nothing else in the agricultural industry that rivals the economic potential. There is an economic benefit to consumers. I have been buying E85 for 60 cents below unleaded for about 3 months now.”

The cost of ethanol makes it very attractive for fuel blenders to use increased amounts with unleaded gasoline, but they are limited to a 10% ethanol blend under current regulations. The ethanol industry is pushing for the U.S. EPA to raise the limit to 15%.

“Increasing the limit to 15% is reasonable. This will create jobs, it will expand the industry and it will help agriculture. It will do a lot of good things – less dependence on foreign sources for our energy needs, it’s better for our environment -- there’s no down side to this. I have no idea why we wouldn’t move in this direction and agriculture is up to the challenge,” said Governor Ted Strickland, who sent a letter to the EPA encouraging a decision to raise the limit for ethanol blending. “It’s a value added product. In the past, before we had these ethanol facilities, Ohio corn was sent out of the state to some other community that benefited from taking it and adding value to it by making ethanol. Now we’re doing that right here in Ohio and that is good news. I would like to see it expand.”

In addition, legislation is before Congress to continue a much-needed incentive, called VEETC, a 45-cents-per-gallon tax credit for fueling stations to blend ethanol with gasoline. There is also a new energy bill on the horizon, making it an important and critical time to highlight ethanol’s many environmental and economic benefits to our country and the state of Ohio.
Ethanol production has grown dramatically more efficient in the past few years, and is considered “energy positive.” Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that for every unit of energy required to make ethanol, 2.3 units of energy are produced.

In addition, according to a University of Nebraska report last year, ethanol directly emits an average of 51 percent less greenhouse gas than gasoline, as much as three times the reduction reported in earlier research, thanks to recent improvements in efficiency throughout the production process.

As the upsetting images of suffering from the Gulf continue to flash across our television screens, the extensive baggage of our dependence on oil will be at the forefront of public debate on the street corner to the highest levels of our government. And, hopefully, so will ethanol -- an alternative fuel that looks pretty good compared to the alternative.

Matt Reese writes for Ohio’s Country Journal and resides in Baltimore, Ohio. This column is brought to you by Ohio agriculture. Contact him at mkcreese@yahoo.com.

Loss of atrazine would wipe out 21-to- 48,000 ag-related jobs

University of Chicago economist says even more losses would come when sorghum, sugar cane and other crops are considered

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 7, 2010) – Banning the agricultural herbicide atrazine would cost between 21,000 and 48,000 jobs from corn production losses alone, according to University of Chicago economist Don L. Coursey, Ph.D.

Dr. Coursey announced his findings at a briefing sponsored by the Triazine Network today at the National Press Club in Washington.

Coursey estimates atrazine’s annual production value to corn alone to be between $2.3 billion and $5 billion.

Atrazine’s additional value to sorghum, sugar cane and other uses increases these totals.

“The economic data on atrazine are very clear. As a first-order estimate, banning atrazine will erase between 21,000 and 48,000 jobs related to or dependant on corn production, with additional job losses coming from both sugar cane and sorghum production losses,” Coursey said.

“The range is wide because we have never before banned a product on which so many depend and for which suitable replacements have a wide variety of prices and application regimes.”

“If all of that job loss were concentrated in the agricultural sector, its unemployment would grow by as much as 2.6 percent. Replacement costs for corn farmers could reach as high as $58 per acre,” Coursey said.

Atrazine has been a mainstay of corn, sorghum and sugar cane production for 50 years. The second most-used herbicide in the U.S., it controls a broad range of yield-robbing weeds, is safe for the crop and supports a variety of farming systems, including soil-saving conservation-till agriculture.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) re-registered atrazine in 2006 based on the evidence of nearly 6,000 studies and more than 80,000 public comments. It began an additional, unscheduled review of atrazine in late 2009.

“Atrazine is essential to U.S. agriculture. We appreciate Dr. Coursey’s findings and will distribute them to our members, the EPA and to our elected representatives. With unemployment still painfully high across the nation, we can’t afford to lose as many as 50,000 jobs and the corn yield that sustains them,” said Jere White, Triazine Network chairman and executive director of the Kansas Corn Growers Association.

EPA cited a media report and claims by a longtime anti-atrazine group when it announced the additional, unscheduled review. It was the first time in history EPA did not cite sound science to initiate a review process.

Coursey’s statement can be viewed at http://agsense.org/.

Coursey is the Ameritech Professor of Public Policy Studies in the Harris School at the University of Chicago, where he served as dean from 1996 to 1998.

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For more information contact:

Sue Schulte or Jere White
Triazine Network/Kansas Corn Growers Association
785-448-6922

Tricia Sheehan
Gibbs & Soell Public Relations
847-519-9150

About The Triazine Network

The Triazine Network was established in 1995 in response to U.S. EPA’s November 1994 decision to initiate a special review of the triazine herbicides, including atrazine, simazine and cyanazine. Since its inception, Triazine Network members have advocated use of sound science and established scientific methods to evaluate the health and environmental impacts of the triazine herbicides.

Ohio ethanol supporters: America needs ethanol in energy bill

Locally-produced Ethanol Creates Jobs, Cuts GHGs and Strengthens National Security

COLUMBUS, OH - Ohio ethanol supporters are asking federal lawmakers to include support for domestic ethanol in any Congressional debate over clean energy and job creation. In an appearance today at the Ohio statehouse, Governor Ted Strickland joined Growth Energy member Mark Borer and Ohio Corn Growers Association CEO Dwayne Siekman for a press conference to highlight the facts about Ohio ethanol: it creates local jobs, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and strengthens national security.

“Ohio has the natural resources and industrial base to be a leader in biofuels,” Governor Strickland said. “Increasing investments in ethanol production is a win-win for Ohio because it creates jobs while decreasing our dependence on foreign sources of oil.”

"By producing over 420 million gallons of ethanol and 1.2 million tons of distiller's grain per year, Ohio's ethanol industry has shown it has a positive impact on local communities. Yet, we can accomplish so much more if federal policy will support domestic ethanol. Congress needs to make expanding the production and consumption of our own renewable, clean burning fuel a priority," said Ohio Ethanol Producers President and Growth Energy member Mark Borer.

Throughout the July recess, ethanol supporters – from Ohio ethanol plants to the more than 18,000 members of Growth Force – will be reaching out to their federal representatives to communicate the crucial need to pass energy legislation that addresses our nation’s addiction to foreign oil.

“Less than two years after our nation faced the highest fuel prices in history we are now experiencing one of the largest ecological disasters related to energy. We are urging the Senate to come back from the Independence Day recess and bring an energy bill to the floor; a bill that promotes America’s fuel. In these tight economic times when we are sending billions of dollars overseas to fund the economies of foreign countries we need legislation that will keep that money right here in America. Domestic ethanol is the only commercially viable, renewable fuel that creates American jobs while cleaning our air and strengthening our economy and national security. Ethanol should be at the heart of this debate in Congress,” said Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis.

Growth Energy maintains that any legislation debated in Congress should include provisions that support renewable fuels to help reduce our nation’s dependence on oil, two-thirds of which is imported. Specifically, Growth Energy has asked Congress to reauthorize the tariff on foreign energy to protect American energy independence and jobs, reauthorize the blender’s tax credit or produce other tax legislation that would help level the playing field for ethanol in the fight against Big Oil, and open the fuels market so more consumers are driving Flex Fuel Vehicles and have access to blender pumps.

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About Growth Energy

Growth Energy is a group committed to the promise of agriculture and growing America’s economy through cleaner, greener energy. Growth Energy members recognize America needs a new ethanol approach. Through smart policy reform and a proactive grassroots campaign, Growth Energy promotes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, expanding the use of ethanol in gasoline, decreasing our dependence on foreign oil, and creating American jobs at home. More information can be found at GrowthEnergy.org.