Coppock said:

“The immediate nature of the decision and mandate has already created chaos in our industry. Growers are now without options at the worst possible time in their production year.”

The letter requests EPA appeal the federal court ruling “using all legal avenues available …” U.S. farmers are in the heart of their growing season, and planting decisions and subsequent herbicide application plans have been made. Ag retailers and growers will be scrambling to secure alternatives, which may not be readily available in time.

“This decision by the Ninth Circuit is an overreach and must be corrected immediately. This will have a major impact on this year’s crops if not handled very soon. The farm economy has already experienced major struggles this year and this is one that can easily be avoided”.

said Coppock.

Source: Agricultural Retailers Association

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“EPA is leading the charge in following the president’s executive order to promote transparency across all government agencies. We are pleased to see this first-ever rule and will be submitting comments in support based on recommendations from our membership.

“A consistent process to provide public input into the EPA’s development of regulations and guidance documents is critical to ag retailers and the agriculture industry. This will not only provide the opportunity to be sure that our voices are heard but will also ensure that new rules are guided by sound science, practicality and economic feasibility.

“All federal agencies need to follow a similar path of transparency and public stakeholder input.”

Click here to read the proposed rule from EPA.

Source: Agricultural Retailers Association

The post Agricultural Retailers Association supports EPA proposed rule appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said:

“This is a win for sustainable agriculture. Today’s decision means farmers can continue to use conservation tillage and no-till methods on their farms to conserve soil, preserve and increase nutrients, improve water quality, trap excess carbon in the soil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That said, safety is our first priority and the science clearly shows that this tool is both safe and effective.”

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation 

The post The Environmental Protection Agency makes Great Announcement appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

“In recent years, the number of small refinery exemptions has increased dramatically, which is problematic because it means refiners blend fewer gallons of renewable fuels into gasoline,” AFBF said in recent comments on the proposal.

Between 2013 and 2015, EPA granted no more than eight small refinery waivers per year. The current administration retroactively approved 19 waivers for 2016, granted 35 waivers in 2017 and another 31 in 2018 – ultimately exempting more than 4 billion gallons of renewable fuel obligations over the past three years.

The organization also took issue with the percentage of exemption applications that have been approved since 2016. Before the current administration took office, EPA approved between 50% and 62% of the applications. Under this administration, EPA approved 95% of the exemptions requested in 2016 and 2017 and 74% of the petitions in 2018 – after prolonged pushback from key agriculture and biofuel industry stakeholders.

“These decisions have had significant impacts on struggling farmers, who have watched the demand for corn grown for ethanol drop as the renewable fuel volume obligations diminish with each exemption granted. It is alarming that the agency will continue down this path as farmers are facing extreme weather challenges, trade headwinds and a rural economy nearing its breaking point,” Farm Bureau said.

The main problem with EPA’s proposal is that it bases the projected volume of gasoline and diesel that would be exempt in 2020 on the three-year rolling average of relief recommended by the Department of Energy, rather than the three-year rolling average of actual exemptions.

“This is problematic because DOE’s projections for the volume of biofuels that will be exempted are often much lower than actual exemptions,” Farm Bureau explained.

Farm Bureau is also calling for the inclusion of language in the final 2020 renewable volume obligations that binds EPA by regulation to use the three-year rolling average of actual exemptions in all future renewable volume obligation rulemakings, not just 2020.

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation 

The post Farm Bureau sais to EPA that small refinery waivers must be based on actual exemptions appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.