Joining Forces: This unlikely duo is being tasked with deciding U.S. biofuel policy

The soy complex ended trading yesterday holding strong, supported by talks of biofuel policy on the horizon.

The Trump Administration has asked the oil industry and biofuel groups to come together and work it out themselves. Once they come up with an agreement, it would be presented to the EPA, allowing the Agency to make it the rule.

StoneX’s Arlan Suderman tells us this could be good news for farmers.

“It’s that lack of a policy that has severely hurt our crush margins, our crush demand here of late. We’ve seen liquid biomass diesel production drop by over 50% from December levels in January and February because we don’t have a tax credit policy right now.”

Suderman says this all could happen relatively fast. He is expecting oil and biofuel groups to wrap talks by the end of the month. From there, he expects the EPA to take one to two months to get a final policy returned.

Related Stories
Shaun Haney, host of RealAg Radio, joined us to break down the latest data on Canadian farmland values and share insights on how it impacts producers.
Key signs of the U.S. beef herd’s recovery are improved pasture conditions, lower feed costs, and increased regulatory alignment and support for producers to implement targeted grazing practices.
Dr. Mark Svoboda with the National Drought Mitigation Center discusses a new global drought report and resources to help operations increase drought resilience.
Treat financial stress as a health risk—know the warning signs, normalize conversations, and connect farm families to local and national support early.
Congress has just over a month of working days left for the year. Plan for uneven USDA service until funding is restored, and closely monitor Farm Bill talks, as avoiding Permanent Law before January 1 is the single biggest risk to markets and milk prices.
Mexico’s tougher, two-step treatment and added checkpoints are catching cases before they can spread—good news for producers near the border.

LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

Farm Bureau Economist Faith Parum discusses key outcomes from the U.S.-China trade agreement and the benefits of expanding trade across Southeast Asia.
Farm CPA Paul Neiffer joined us on Thursday’s Market Day Report to discuss the implications for farmers.
Chris Bliley with Growth Energy discusses ongoing concerns about U.S. ethanol exports and the expansion of market access promised under the Phase One deal between the U.S. and China.
“It does not extinguish right away here — in any sort of sense — the real profitability concerns and people’s ability to pay bills and get to the other side of this in the very short term. This is where the skepticism builds.”
RFD-TV tax expert Roger McEowen discusses the renewed tax provision and how cattle producers can take advantage of it to recover investments in heifer retention and herd expansion more quickly.