The 2020 election is a little more than two months away. Agriculture and biofuels have certainly been a hot topic in this election. Whether people are talking about new deals or ethanol, farming is going to be part of the discussion in policy in the next several weeks.
In Iowa, the biofuels industry has been really suffering because of demand loss from the COVID-19 pandemic, and more so from the Environmental Protection Agency?s granting of small refinery exemptions (SREs). The topic has been talked about from supporters of both parties and may have a huge effect on how rural Iowa votes this fall.
Senator Chuck Grassley talked about a whole host of topics on this week?s chat with Ag media members. He was asked about the claim that Iowa farmers are upset over the Trump administration?s handling of SREs, and the concern that those rural voters may not trust another four years under Trump. The Senator answered that the farmers he has talked with are not sharing those sentiments.
Grassley said that it isn?t that farmers are ?upset with the administration, they are just uncertain.? Some biofuels supporters argue that ?uncertainty? is all they have had during this administration. Grassley also said that the decisions of the 10th circuit court need to be enforced.
Senator Grassley says he believes that President Trump will still stand with farmers. He says he does not have that certainty with the Biden/Harris ticket. He cited the Green New Deal in that observation.
Earlier this month that Presidential support of the biofuels industry was called into question. A letter was delivered to Vice President Pence on his last visit to Des Moines, requesting that the Trump administration honor its agreements to protect the RFS. Agreements that were made almost a year ago, and still have not been fulfilled.
