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“EPA Denies RFS Waiver Request”

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday it doesn’t have enough evidence of severe economic harm to warrant waiving the Renewable Fuels Standard. EPA Assistant Administrator says while EPA recognizes this year’s drought has created hardship in some sectors of the economy – especially for livestock producers – its extensive analysis makes clear Congressional requirements for a waiver have not been met and waiving the RFS would have little – if any – impact. Both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Energy conducted economic analyses and modeling that helped EPA make its decision.

The National Sorghum Producers and Renewable Fuels Association say EPA made the right decision. RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen says RFA applauds the EPA for basing its decision on thoughtful analysis of the facts – not emotion or panic. Dinneen says the RFS is working – as is evident by the fact the ethanol industry has reduced output by nearly 12-percent. Advanced Ethanol Council Executive Director Brooke Coleman adds waiving the RFS would have done little if anything to reduce grain prices – instead hurting consumers at the pump and undercutting investment in advanced biofuels. Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis says the decision confirms what ethanol supporters knew all along – that the petitioners were wrong in their belief that the RFS caused the economic harm. The National Corn Growers Association agrees – and NCGA President Pam Johnson says the ethanol industry plays a pivotal role in job creation throughout the country – supporting over 400-thousand jobs across the nation. National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson says the RFS has helped reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil from 60-percent in 2005 to 45-percent today. Moving forward – Dinneen says the ethanol industry needs a more constructive dialog with livestock and poultry groups about the real causes of high feed costs and the impacts on retail food prices.

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“Livestock, Poultry Groups Disappointed in EPA Decision”

In light of the most widespread drought to face the country in more than 50-years – National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President J.D. Alexander says the refusal to grant the RFS waiver is a blatant example of the flawed policy of the RFS. A coalition of livestock, poultry and dairy producers – including NCBA and the National Pork Producers Council – is frustrated and discouraged EPA ignored the clear economic argument from tens of thousands of family farmers and producers that the food-to-fuel policy is causing. Alexander says the artificial support for corn ethanol provided for by the RFS is only making the situation worse for cattlemen and women by driving up feed costs. According to NCBA – since December 2007 – the cattle feeding sector of the beef industry lost a record 4-billion dollars in equity due to high feed costs and economic factors that have negatively affected beef demand. USDA reports corn prices have increased about 60-percent since June and USDA’s Economic Research Service shows 2011 feed costs for livestock, poultry and dairy reached a record 54.6-billion dollars – an increase of more than 9-billion from costs in 2010. NCBA says the effects of the denied RFS waiver will be felt throughout the economy with a predicted liquidation of 500-thousand beef cows and 50-thousand dairy cows this year.

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“House Passes PNTR Legislation, Now All Eyes on the Senate”

The House passed legislation Friday providing Permanent Normal Trade Relations to Russia and Maldova by a vote of 365 to 43. This legislation repeals the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment and includes new human rights-related sanctions on Russia and trade enforcement measures. House Ag Chair Frank Lucas says this action will provide additional value and increased access into a growing market for U.S. farmers and ranchers through lower tariffs and more certain trade rules. American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman agrees farmers and ranchers will have more certain and predictable market access as a result of Russia’s commitment not to raise tariffs on any products above the negotiated rates and to apply international food safety standards in a uniform and transparent manner.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus has called on the Senate to pass a PNTR measure after the Thanksgiving recess to get it on President Obama’s desk before the end of the year. Until Congress enacts a PNR – Baucus says American businesses will continue losing out on export opportunities in the Russian market to competitors in China, Europe and other World Trade Organization member nations. American Soybean Association President Steve Wellman says ASA also calls on the Senate to pass its version of this bill with the same expediency and bipartisan cooperation as their House counterparts so American soybean farmers can reap the benefits of this new partnership. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk says the vote brings the U.S. one step closer to the day when its businesses and workers will enjoy the full benefits of Russia’s WTO membership.

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“Are Farmland Prices Entering Another Bubble Similar to 40 Years Ago?”

The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research released a new report that shows the current U.S. farmland market is showing patterns similar to the market bubble of the 1970s. Resident Fellow at the Institute Alex Pollock says prices peaked in 1982 before real prices fell back to their level of 15 years earlier while defaults and insolvencies escalated. Pollock says trends from the past 20 years suggests another such bubble may be where prices are now. He says real farmland prices have been climbing over the last 17-years and are now higher than at the peak of the previous bubble. Analysts and experts are reluctant to declare this a bubble – but it’s also plausible to imagine prices dropping again. The Federal Reserve’s record low interest rates specifically have contributed to inflation in farmland market prices – according to Pollock – who believes when interest rates begin to rise – farmland prices may drop.

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“Pig Genome Map Could Help Humans, Pork Production”

Scientists have mapped the domestic pig’s genome in a project that might enhance the pig’s use in the testing of drugs for human diseases. USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Director Sonny Ramaswany says a new analysis – identifying genes that could be linked with illnesses suffered by farm pigs – helps scientists understand the genetic mechanisms that enable high-quality pork production, feed efficiency and resistance to disease. Ramaswany says this ultimately can help producers breed high-quality swine, lower production costs and improve sustainability. Overall – scientists found 112-positions where the porcine protein has the same amino acid that is implicated in a disease in humans.

SOURCE: NAFB News Service