American Soybean Association

American Soybean Association Clears Up E15 Stance as Senate Debate Intensifies

Thu, 14 May 2026 19:09:57 GMT

The House vote to expand year-round E15 on Wednesday should have been a clean policy victory lap for ethanol supporters. Instead, it’s become a multi-layered debate involving competing economic models, social media confusion, and an increasingly complicated Senate runway that may determine whether the win in the House actually translates into law.

The House narrowly passed legislation Wednesday allowing year-round sales of E15, 218 to 203, marking a major win for ethanol advocates and corn growers. But that bill also included reallocation of Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs), which some groups say made the bill more complicated than just a straight bill that would clear the way for year-round sales E15.

But even as supporters celebrate, the conversation around what’s actually in the bill, and who benefits most, has only intensified.

And according to the American Soybean Association, much of the online backlash in recent days is rooted in a misunderstanding of the legislation itself.

“We Support Year-Round E15. 100%.”

ASA CEO Stephen Censky told Farm Journal the organization is not opposed to year-round E15.

“Absolutely. We have always supported year-round E15. We think it’s positive,” Censky says.

But Censky argues the social media controversy stems not from the ethanol provision itself, but from additional language in the House bill that deals with Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard.

“It’s those other provisions that provide exemptions to small refineries that undermine that positivity,” he says, also noting that multiple independent analyses suggest those provisions could shift the broader farm economy in less favorable ways.

ASA Statement on House Passage of Year-Round E15 Legislation: pic.twitter.com/bbewbGSF6c
— American Soybean Association (@ASA_Soybeans) May 13, 2026

FAPRI Study Adds Fuel Ahead of Vote

One of those studies came from the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI). Just ahead of the House vote, new modeling from FAPRI added fresh insight into the debate show that when you add in the reallocation of SREs, the House bill is a net negative for agriculture.

The analysis found that year-round E15 alone is relatively modest in its near-term market impact, largely shifting demand between corn and soybeans. But when paired with changes to Small Refinery Exemptions, the economic picture becomes more complicated.

“It takes what is really a trade-off between corn and beans and makes it an overall negative for both what the government spends and for the farm income for the sector,” says Seth Meyer, director of FAPRI.

NCGA Disputes Modeling Assumptions

After the report was released on Tuesday, groups like the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) pushed back on the recent economic analysis by both FAPRI and the CBO.

NCGA Chief Economist Krista Swanson argued that key assumptions in the studies underestimate both policy strength and adoption speed.

“Year-round E15 saves drivers money at the pump, supports America’s corn farmers and improves energy security for our country,” she says, adding that the group’s own modeling shows stronger outcomes for farm income.

ASA Pushes Back on “Corn vs. Soy” Narrative

Even though controversy swirled on social media, claiming ASA’s lack of support for the House version of the bill shows a split between corn and soybean groups, Censky rejects the idea.

“No, I mean, again, I think that comes from a misunderstanding or maybe too simplistic of looking at things,” he says. “We support year-round E15, so does NCGA.”

He points to shared support from the NCGA, while emphasizing that the disagreement centers on refinery exemption language, not ethanol blending policy itself.

“It’s those other provisions (SREs) that were attached to that bill that we have the problems with,” he says,.

Senate Outlook: A Far More Complicated Road Ahead

If the House vote represented momentum, the Senate introduces a much higher degree of uncertainty .

Washington analyst Jim Wiesemeyer says the House approval was still a meaningful breakthrough for ethanol supporters, but the path forward now runs into procedural hurdles, committee jurisdiction battles and a Senate math problem that doesn’t easily resolve.

“Senate passage remains uncertain,” Wiesemeyer notes, pointing to the fact that Clean Air Act authority tied to E15 summer sales rests largely with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, not the Senate Ag Committee.

Wiesemeyer reports while Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has expressed support for including year-round E15 in a broader farm bill effort, the jurisdiction split complicates the path forward. EPW Chair Shelley Moore Capito has supported compromise language similar to the House bill, but without the more controversial SRE-related reforms. Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), meanwhile, is expected to oppose expansion efforts tied to ethanol policy under Clean Air Act authority.

That leaves Senate Ag Chairman John Boozman (R-Ark.) in a key position, but without full control over the underlying regulatory levers.

But even Boozman was clear after the Senate vote that the House version could face resitance in teh Senate. Boozman, who akso serves as Chairman of the House Ag Committee, telling Politico the House version may not have enough support to make it through the upper chamber, saying after the vote, “I think we have a good chance to pass an E15 bill. I don’t know if it will be that one.”

Senate Ag Chair John Boozman tells @politico the House-passed E15 bill doesn’t seem likely to survive the Senate:

“I think we have a good chance to pass an E15 bill. I don't know if it will be that one.”

Reiterates he and other Rs have small and medium size refinery issues https://t.co/4suzybfgrr
— Meredith Lee Hill (@meredithllee) May 13, 2026

Even if a path emerges through committee, Wiesemeyer notes that a stand-alone bill would still need 60 votes for cloture on the Senate floor, an uphill climb given opposition from refining-state senators and lawmakers concerned about emissions, fuel volatility, and air-quality standards.

That bipartisan resistance could force supporters to consider alternative strategies.

One option, according to Wiesemeyer, is something increasingly discussed in Washington: attaching year-round E15 to a must-pass legislative vehicle later this year, such as a broader energy package, government funding bill, or end-of-year omnibus-style agreement, where controversial policy riders are often resolved in larger negotiations.

For now, Wiesemeyer’s bottom line mirrors the broader tone emerging from both the economic analysis and the policy debate: the House delivered a meaningful win for ethanol supporters, but in the Senate, the path forward is anything but settled, and the final outcome is still very much in play.

Where the Uncertainty Really Sits

Much of the debate now centers on variables that remain unresolved: how quickly E15 is adopted, how EPA interprets Renewable Fuel Standard obligations, and how aggressively Small Refinery Exemptions are implemented in practice.

Those unknowns, analysts say, will ultimately determine whether the legislation is a modest reshuffling of crop demand or a more meaningful shift in long-term farm income trends.

House Ag Committee Starts Farm Bill Mark Up

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:24:42 GMT

The push to get a five-year farm bill has been renewed in the House Ag Committee as Chairman G.T. Thompson released language and mark up began on Tuesday.

One Big Beautiful Bill Omits Farm Bill Titles

While some question why a new long term farm bill is needed, a cross section of the nation’s farm groups explain the bill did not cover all the titles normal included in a long-term farm bill.

“We had a lot of the provisions of the farm bill that were included in the One Big Beautiful Bill — the increase in reference prices, some changes and improvements to crop insurance, etc. But there’s still some really important aspects of the farm bill that need to be passed,” says Steve Censky, chief executive officer of the American Soybean Association.

Sam Kieffer, chief executive officer of the National Association of Wheat Growers, points out the One Big Beautiful Bill did not touch the conservation title or reauthorize programs like the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Nor did the legislation deal with credit or expand farm loan limits.

“It is time to give our folks some certainty when it comes to conservation programs, when it comes to credit. The cost of doing business is drastically different than it was in 2018. And the 2018 Farm Bill was based off of data from three, four years prior. So, we want to make sure that we improve the credit section of of the farm bill, get that finished,” Kieffer says.

Farm Safety Net Needed

Kieffer adds a farm bill is also needed to provide certainty to farmers and offer a farm safety net in times of negative margins.

“There’s three years of market loss that our growers are struggling with at the moment, and they’re making hard decisions. Some of them are reducing acres, some of them are letting land go and there’s a price to be paid for that as well,” Kieffer says.

House Ag Committee Language Includes Prop 12 Ag Labeling Uniformity Act

Chairman Thompson’s farm bill language includes a Ag Labeling Uniformity Act, which covers pesticide registrations, according to Censky.

“Which means that the EPA is going to have preeminence when they make a health and safety determination of a pesticide, a crop protection product. You can’t have a state adopt different rules,” Censky says.

The House language also includes a national fix to California’s strict Prop 12 sow production standards and the possible patchwork of rules in other states.

However, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) would lose around $1 billion in budget authority over the next four fiscal years under the House Agriculture Committee’s GOP farm bill draft, according to calculations by the Congressional Budget Office. EQIP was essentially used as a funding source for other priorities in the legislation.

Include Food for Peace Program

Kieffer says NAWG also wants Congress to move the Food for Peace Program to USDA in the language of the Farm Bill.

“USDA knows how to deal with farm commodities. USDA is already in the business of engaging in food aid programs globally. They have the infrastructure. They have the personnel and they understand agriculture. So, the farm bill that is ready to be moved in the house here soon has a provision that would include that,” Kieffer adds.

Senate Preparing for Farm Bill Mark Up

While the Senate Agriculture Committee has not released farm bill language or scheduled a mark-up, chairman John Boozman told Agri-Pulse his committee will take up a farm bill of its own in the coming months. Timing will be dependent in part on how debate over a House version proceeds.

Will Congress Pass a Farm Bill?

Still there’s uncertainty about the appetite for passage of a farm bill in Congress according to Tim Lust, chief executive officer of National Sorghum Producers.

“A lot of these details honestly have been negotiated for a year or two, and it’s maybe little tweaks to them, but a lot of the main things haven’t really changed. It’s a matter of how do we get that across the finish line and find a way to get it signed into law?” he says.

USDA Delivers Thousands of Bridge Payments In a Matter of Days

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 15:56:32 GMT

In an afternoon general session, adjusted to fit USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins’ schedule, the agency leader welcomed a record crowd of 12,000 to her home state of Texas as she stares down one of the most challenging moments in farming history. Farmers are facing high input costs, trade uncertainty and surging grain production.

“Between 2020 and last year when I spoke at this incredible event, fuel costs had increased 33%, seed costs had increased 19%, fertilizer prices had gone up 48%, labor up 44% and interest expenses up 71%,” said Rollins.

The frustration in the room was palpable following a year in 2025 where strong production was again unable to overcome swelling costs and expenses. Farmers here are now looking harder to Washington for answers as another season of negative margins stares them in the face.

“We’re seven years out from this last farm bill and all of this information that we’re trying to work with is so outdated, our costs are so different, we have to get something done,” said Jed Bower, the current president of the National Corn Growers Association and an Ohio farmer. “They have forgotten about rural America.”

Help is on the way

USDA did roll out an $11 billion rescue program called the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program as a way to help tide farmers over until safety net pricing adjustments kick in this fall. Those weren’t passed in a new Farm Bill but instead included in the One Big Beautiful Bill signed last year. Sign-ups for Bridge payments are currently underway with FSA even allowing Commodity Classic attendees to finalize their applications on the tradeshow floor. Some of those payments are already in farmers’ hands as Rollins told farmers help is on the way.

“I will not declare victory, we still have so much work to do, but I will declare that we have made great progress on the promises that were made,” said Rollins. “Since [the last time I was here] we have had 15 new trade deals and/or frameworks for US agriculture in key markets like the European Union, UK, Japan, Mexico and Southeast Asia.”

The secretary also pointing China’s return to the market and pending presidential meeting scheduled for later this month. Economists are forecasting the agricultural trade deficit to fall from $41.5 billion in 2025 to $35 billion this year. That shift is happening around a strong export year in 2025 for things like ethanol where exports were up 11%, dairy exports were up 15% and corn exports ending the year 29% higher.

Separately from trade, Rollins noting a litany of deregulation happening across agencies. In a post on X.com, the secretary listed a number of changes already underway. Rollins writing that to date the administration has cut 129 regulations for every new one, resulting in $211.8 billion in net cost savings. She says accomplishments in USDA deregulation agenda include:

Reversing the EPA endangerment finding impacting vehicle emissions standards
Raising poultry line speeds → ~16% lower chicken prices
Rescinding the Roadless Rule → opens 59M acres for timber
Cutting USDA NEPA regs by 66% (streamlining 7 rules into 1)
Reforming H-2A AEWR → saves farmers >$2B/year in labor costs
Clarifying WOTUS per recent Supreme Court ruling
Modernizing Forest Service oil/gas & minerals leasing rules

I’m in Floresville, TX today launching @USDA’s new Deregulatory Agenda for American Agriculture & Consumers! Thank you to the amazing Boening Family for welcoming us to your beautiful farm!!! The Trump Admin is cutting red tape to unleash innovation on farms & ranches while… pic.twitter.com/5NOdTT2dpX
— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) February 26, 2026

USDA systems get an upgrade

While the world focuses on precision agriculture and technology adoption, the systems helping support American farmers has been embarrassingly slow to evolve.

“A GAO audit found that barely 15% of previous upgrades were delivered,” said Rollins. “We have been left with ancient technical architecture with 500 different custom-built systems and databases managed by over 1,000 different contractors that cost the taxpayer over $1 billion.”

The secretary announcing the ‘One Farmer, One File’ initiative as a way to streamline the data collection and services from USDA.

“This creates a single, streamlined record that follows you, the farmer, no matter where you go in USDA system,” explained Rollins. “When this initiative concludes, producers will be able to access their USDA data in a single, modern, secure system built to today’s cybersecurity standards.”

USDA Secretary Rollins watches as a producers enrolls at Commodity Classic

(USDA (X.com))

Rollins says it’s part of the administration’s broader vision of revamping how Americans interact with the government’s digital front door. She also made it clear that these new tools are optional.

“What does this mean? Do I have to do everything on a computer? No, these FSA offices will stay open. You will always have someone to walk into and sit down with to help with paper applications and traditional acreage reporting,” said Rollins. “This is not a mandate to digitize. We are not telling you we’re moving everything to your phone or your computer at home, but instead it is an expansion of options for our farmers.”

This is the first phase of a multi-year initiative. The Farmer Bridge Assistance Program is the very first program running fully on this new platform.

“After 72 hours we had over 30,000 applications go through the application process at login.gov” said Richard Fordyce, USDA undersecretary for farm production and conservation. “When the producer sees the form on their virtual device and hit sign here, that immediately goes to the county office. It’s then signed and certified and sent for payment, immediately.”

“The results have been stunning,” said Rollins. “In just the past few days, we have seen 50 times more producers sign up online than ECAP did over its entire five-month sign-up period last year. Adoption is up over 5,000% and several billion dollars have already been obligated. Many of you told me you’ve already had the check hit your bank account faster than any program ever before in the history of USDA.”

Rollins called it a new standard for the delivery of services. She says the IT and system upgrades are scheduled to be completed within the next 2 years.

Focus on 2026

Rollins laid out her priorities for the new year as farmers at Commodity Classic look for answers to the difficult balance sheet decisions awaiting their return to the farm. The top 5 boiled down to this:

Continue to deregulate
Strike new trade deals
Lower the cost of inputs
Expand markets at home with biofuels
Strengthen the farm safety net by passing a new Farm Bill

That will be easier said than done as each step comes with its own set of challenges. Rollins will be navigating closing Washington D.C. offices and moving staff to new regional hubs which she hopes to have done by the start of school next fall. Throw in global political uncertainty, stubborn inflation and stiff competition from Brazil, and the challenges are big.

“I want every American to understand that if we are not able to reverse the trend, the farm economy, the increase in inputs, the fewer markets around the world, protection from lawfare, if we’re not able to reverse that trend, then we not only will lose the greatest industry in American history, but we will also lose our country,” said Rollins. “There is no freedom unless we are able to feed and fuel ourselves.”

MFP 2.0? Ag Committees Consider Farm Aid Through Farm Bill 2.0

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 16:50:29 GMT

Chairs of both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees are looking at farm aid through a Farm Bill 2.0.

House Agriculture Committee Chair G.T. Thompson says a framework is already underway with the goal of committee action in September.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman is also considering aid, but through the Commodity Credit Corporation. He says the other solutions will take too long. This comes after hundreds of farmers in his home state of Arkansas met with lawmakers to ask for help.

Market Facilitation Program 2.0?
The trigger is historically low grain prices, combined with tariffs of up to 23% on U.S. soybeans, keeping China out of the export market.

Steve Censky, chief executive officer of the American Soybean Association, says unless China buys soybeans soon, they may be looking at aid similar to the Market Facilitation Program used back in 2018-19 during the last trade war.

“I think unless we can get things turned around with China, we’re going to be in that position again,” Censky says.

Farmers in the Dakotas and Minnesota are already seeing $8 soybeans with no China business.

But whether MFP is warranted is tied to the timing of a possible China deal, according to Frayne Olson, crop economist and marketing specialist with North Dakota State University.

“Even if harvest is already started — if we can get the wheels moving — it will be a lot better than what we saw in 2019. So, I think it’s a little bit early to be talking about MFP payments,” Olson says.

ASA Holding Out for China Deal
And the American Soybean Association echoes that position.

Censky says: “We have not been publicly calling for another MFP-type program. Our priority has been to get a deal with China on soybeans — because having that market is what soybean farmers want.”

In fact, Censky says MFP payments are just a Band-Aid to help farmers survive for another year.

“No farmer wants to be dependent on getting his or her income from the government or from the mailbox rather than from the marketplace.”

Farm Aid Has Unintended Consequences
Plus, the payments have had — and will have — unintended consequences. Censky says, longer term, any form of government assistance gets capitalized into land rents and land values. That has consequences for farmers as well.

The tariff on U.S. soybeans going into China also incentivizes Brazil to increase acreage more quickly, according to Censky.

“That expanded production will be here to haunt, basically, U.S. soybean farmers for years to come — not only in the China market, but in other markets around the world,” Censky says.

Need for Farm Aid Greater Than in 2018
Still, both House and Senate Ag Committee chairs agree farm aid is needed.

Boozman is looking at the CCC rather than tariff revenue, saying it’s more immediate. Censky agrees there’s more urgency than in 2018.

“I think it’s more serious today. That’s because prices were higher back in 2018 and 2019,” he says. “Farmers were starting out from a better position. Not only did you have prices higher, but your inputs were not as expensive.”

Farmers may not be able to withstand the pain of a trade war like they did back then.

What Ag Should Know: EPA Releases Final Herbicide Strategy

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 18:50:41 GMT

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final version of its Herbicide Strategy, which is intended to protect more than 900 federally endangered and threatened species from the potential impacts of herbicide.

According to the EPA, the strategy will be used to identify measures to reduce the amount of herbicides exposure to these species when herbicides are registered and reevaluated, while still maintaining a variety of herbicide options for users.

“Finalizing our first major strategy for endangered species is a historic step in EPA meeting its Endangered Species Act obligations,” said Jake Li, deputy assistant administrator for pesticide programs for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “By identifying protections earlier in the pesticide review process, we are far more efficiently protecting listed species from the millions of pounds of herbicides applied each year and reducing burdensome uncertainty for the farmers that use them.”

The final strategy includes more options for mitigation measures compared to the draft released in July 2023, including:

Cover crops
Conservation tillage
Windbreaks
Adjuvants
Berms

Growers who already use those measures will not need any other runoff measures.

To determine whether a herbicide will impact a listed species and identify protections to address any impacts, the strategy considers factors such as:

Where a species lives
What it needs to survive (for example for food or pollinators)
Where the pesticide will end up in the environment
What kind of impacts the pesticide might have if it reaches the species

EPA says this will allow them to focus restrictions only in situations where they are needed.

The final strategy itself does not impose any requirements or restrictions on pesticide use and will be used to inform mitigations for new active ingredient registrations and registration review of conventional herbicides.

To help applicators consider their mitigation options, EPA is developing a mitigation menu website that the agency will release this fall, as well as a calculator applicators can use to help determine what further mitigation measures, if any, they may need in addition to what they already have in place.

Industry Reception
ARA senior vice president of public policy & counsel Richard Gupton released a statement in response to the news from EPA.

“ARA plans to review the EPA’s final Herbicide Strategy issued today to gain a better understanding of the full impact it will have on America’s agricultural industry. We appreciate the EPA’s efforts to make continuous improvements to earlier drafts that would have been unworkable for agricultural retailers, pesticide applicators and farmers,” he says. “ARA members support efforts to protect endangered species, an improved registration system that ensures the availability of essential pesticide products, and mitigation measures that are easy to understand, economical, and achievable. The real test will be when new 2025 pesticide label registrations are implemented by EPA.”

In October 2023, ARA filed comments with the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs opposing its Draft Herbicide Strategy Framework.

Josh Gackle, president of the American Soybean Association (ASA), commented as well - sharing his concern for the cost to adhere to the strategy.

“While there are clear improvements to the final Herbicide Strategy over what was first proposed, we are disappointed EPA chose to leave so many opportunities on the table to make this strategy workable for U.S. agriculture. We remain concerned with the complexity of this framework and whether growers and applicators will be able to clearly understand how to implement it. Likewise, we continue to have concerns as to the type and affordability of runoff mitigations EPA has provided, the potential distance of spray drift buffers, the number of mitigations farmers will need to adopt, and whether these requirements are supported by the best available science, as the law requires. As finalized, the Herbicide Strategy is likely to cost U.S. farmers billions of dollars to implement and could result in significant new hurdles to farmers accessing and using herbicides in the future.”

Earlier this summer, ASA and over 300 other groups shared their concerns with EPA’s process for determining how a species is impacting by herbicides.

“While we appreciate the Herbicide Strategy restrictions will not take effect immediately and that EPA plans to implement them in individual pesticide registration decisions moving forward, ASA will carefully observe how closely EPA adheres to its strategy in those proposed decisions,” Gackle says. “While we support EPA becoming compliant with the Endangered Species Act, it is essential that the agency’s approach meets its legal obligations and is workable for agriculture. The final Herbicide Strategy does not satisfy these needs. We look forward to continuing to work with EPA to do better in the next phase of implementation.”

Terry Kippley, president of The Council of Producers and Distributors of Agrotechnology (CPDA), adds, “While we continue to review EPA’s final Herbicide Strategy and accompanying mitigation documents, CPDA would like to commend EPA for recognizing the importance of Drift Reduction Adjuvants (DRAs) in reducing requirements placed on growers. Ensuring access to important crop protection tools with the use of DRAs help maintain an appropriate balance between profitability, the environment and impacted species. By linking boom height, nozzle type and DRA’s, growers have a powerful tool to reduce burdensome buffer demands associated with the Strategy.”

The final strategy and supporting materials can be found here .

ASA CEO: Renewable Diesel Could Drive a New Era for Soybean Demand, But EPA Needs to Rethink the RFS

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 18:12:44 GMT

Farmers and industry leaders gather in Orlando, Fla. this week for the 2023 Commodity Classic , an annual event that not only boasts a large trade show floor, but serves as a meeting place for state and national commodity leaders to set policy priorities for the year. This year, the American Soybean Association (ASA) is focused on everything from the Farm Bill to EPA’s recent Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) proposal, while also pushing for increased market access through trade.

Steve Censky is ASA’s chief executive officer (CEO), landed back at ASA in November 2020. That’s after he served as USDA’s Deputy Secretary from October 2017 to November 2020. He’s no stranger to the CEO role at ASA. Just prior to his appointment to USDA, he served as ASA CEO for more than two decades.

The policy priorities for ASA differ year to year, but the excitement around biomass-based diesel and renewable diesel kicked into high gear during Commodity Classic last year. A year later, Censky says soybean farmers are concerned with what EPA’s recent RFS proposal could do to that potential demand.

As soybean growers look at possible growing demand at home from the push for more biofuels and renewable diesel, Censky says EPA’s recent RFS proposal does the opposite, calling the renewable volume obligations (RVOs) within the proposal “extremely disappointing.”

“It basically flatlines our industry over the next several years. It doesn’t take into account the significant growth that’s happening in the soybean crush sector,” says Censky. EPA’s announcement in early December set the proposed RVO for biomass-based diesel at 2.82 billion gallons for 2023, with an increase to 2.95 billion gallons in 2025.

ASA says that would only cover a fraction of planned production in the U.S. Censky points out there are currently 20 major expansions or new plants underway for soybean processing in the U.S., which would increase U.S. soybean processing to 7 billion gallons of production. That’s an increase of nearly one-third from today, and short of the 2.95 billion gallons supported by EPA’s RFS proposal.

“That’s going to produce and that’s driven by the demand that that we had thought was out there for renewable diesel and biodiesel. And unfortunately, EPA proposing to pull the rug out from under that investment,” says Censky.

Last week, ASA met with EPA Administration Michael Regan, and Censky says they delivered a clear message to EPA: the current RFS proposal would be bad for farmers, rural jobs and rural development. Censky claims soybean crush facilities who are still in the early stages of plant expansions or creation, are now worried EPA’s recent announcement threatens their investments.

“There are some projects that have been more recently announced, and that’s about a two-year project. And those are the ones that we’re frankly concerned about that if we don’t get the EPA to have higher growth numbers in biomass-based diesel, then that could threaten those investments,” he says. “We’ve already heard that some of those players have put their investments on construction on quote, pause until they see the rule is finalized. And that will come in mid-June.”

When asked why EPA and the Biden administration aren’t looking at things like renewable diesel to meet their short-term climate goals, Censky says there’s still a thought that increased demand for oils will drive food prices higher. But Censky says a recent study from Purdue University found the opposite, that the increased soybean meal would actually help drive down the overall cost of food.

“It’s a way to decarbonize our fuel supply,” says Censky. “Right now, we don’t have to wait for a build out of the grid. We don’t have to wait for some revolutionary new battery technologies. It is here. It is a way to do that right now. And, you know, biodiesel and renewable diesel reduce greenhouse gas emissions by, on average, over 70%. And so that is a way to achieve the administration’s climate goals as well.”

Focused on the Farm Bill

Another big focus during Commodity Classic this week is the 2023 Farm Bill . There’s debate on whether Congress will pass a Farm Bill yet this year, but commodity groups are currently making their voices heard, outlining key priorities within the legislation.

“The first thing, that message that we have been delivering, is that we need Congress to have an adequately funded, on time Farm Bill, and we say adequately funded because we recognize that there’s the need out there that the current farm bill actually needs more resources,” says Censky.

Currently, most messages out of Washington point to less funding for the Farm Bill this year, but that’s not stopping ASA from outlining why agriculture needs more resources for the next Farm Bill, not less.

“We’re actually working very hard with other farm groups, and we’ve been leading an effort with other commodity and farm groups, with a budget message to the budget committees, letting them know that that the agriculture committees are going to need more resources,” says Censky. “We’re hopeful that they can get more resources. But we’re also realistic that it’s going to be tough to try to get those additional resources.”

Censky says the first priority is to fully protect crop insurance, as he says that’s soybean farmers most important risk management tool. The other priority is to improve the safety net for soybeans.

“Even when we had the China trade war and U.S. soybean exports plummeted, the safety net, the ARC or the PLC programs, did not kick in. Soybean farmers did not receive any payment. And they had to rely on ad hoc payment,” says Censky.

Within the Farm Bill, ASA also would like to see:

A doubling of the market access program (MAP) and foreign market development funds; funding for those programs has been stagnant for 20 years, Censky says.
Voluntary conservation measures that focus on working lands.

A Push to Increase Demand Through More Market Access and Trade

While the Farm Bill and renewable diesel are urgent issues for ASA, soybean growers see the continued need to grow demand around the globe. That’s why ASA wants to see a focus back on trade.

“Number one, we would love for the administration to begin talking about trade agreements that involve market access tariffs,” says Censky. “The administration, so far, has just said that they want to address the sanitary and phytosanitary, or some of the technical rules. We’re supportive of that, but really, what we need is market access.”

Censky says U.S. farmers export more than half of the crop grown, which is why expanding market access is a focus for ASA. It comes at a time when USDA projects U.S. agricultural exports to decline by $2.5 billion from 2022 to 2023. As a result, USDA forecasts the U.S. trade deficit to grow to $3.5 billion, the second largest since 1990.

“The overall trade numbers just came out, and the U.S. is running an agriculture trade deficit for the first time in many years,” says Censky. “And normally, in agriculture, we enjoy a huge surplus, a positive balance of trade and agriculture. And so I think that really underscores the need for the administration and Congress to get going on new trade agreements that involve market access.”

ASA says their grower members want to see the administration enter back into talks with the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). The original proposal was between 12 Pacific Rim countries and the U.S. While signed in February of 2016, it was not ratified. Strong opposition came from both Democrats and Republicans. In January 2017, new elected President Donald Trump then officially withdrew from TPP.

The remaining countries moved forward with a new trade pact, what’s now called the Comprehensive and Progress Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“We’ve seen the European Union and China, they’re striking new trade agreements, and the U.S. has been left behind,” says Censky. “The last time we had a new trade agreement was over a decade ago, other than the USMCA that had been updated. And so we really need new market access.”

Censky says Southeast Asia is one ASA views as a high growth market. He also thinks soybeans could also see a surge in demand if a trade agreement was reached with that area, allowing market access to countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

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The Cost of a Farm Bill: 2023 Row Crop Priorities

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 15:35:54 GMT

The 2018 farm bill was stamped with a $428 billon price tag when the bill was passed. Nutrition, crop insurance, commodities, trade and conservation programs were among the programs to receive the most funds.

With the 2018 bill set to expire on Sept. 30, the Congressional Research Service last May released baseline spending for the same programs starting in the 2023 farm bill. The baseline shows a decrease in commodities and conservation, while nutrition, trade and crop insurance increased.

As the debate heats up, here’s a breakdown of what ag groups look to push on the 2023 farm bill negotiating table:

1. Crop Insurance

Industry leaders sounded the crop insurance alarm on the The Hill in Jan. when some 60 groups signed a letter to Senate and House Ag Committee members, pushing for protections from “harmful” insurance cuts.

“Farmers spend as much as $4 billion per year of their own money to purchase insurance from the private sector. On average, farmers also must incur losses of almost 30 percent before their insurance coverage pays an indemnity,” the groups wrote in the letter. “Given the challenges faced by rural America and the critical nature of crop insurance, cuts to the program should be avoided.”

Crop insurance is permanently authorized in a farm bill. However, amendments are often posed to the crop insurance title, adding an element of concern for producers.

Leaders at the American Soybean Association (ASA) are looking to play defense in the title, says Christy Seyfert, ASA executive director of government affairs.

“In the past, amendments have been proposed to use crop insurance as a funding resource for priorities outside of crop insurance,” Seyfert says. “We’re looking to protect against harmful amendments that make crop insurance more expensive for farmers.”

Read more: Stepped-Up Basis Leaning in Favor of Rural America on House Ways and Means Panel

National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) is aiming to take a different approach.

“We’re looking to maintain and enhance the crop insurance reach for producers by expanding current authority and programs,” says Chandler Goule, NAWG CEO. “To help with continued market fluctuations and erratic weather patterns, we’re leaning more into the revenue side.”

2. Farm Safety Net

Most farmers who grow row crops will soon be making their decision between Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) .

The 2014 Farm Bill first introduced ARC and PLC with a reference price, while the 2018 Farm Bill allowed the reference price to increase by up to 15%, which is why it is now called the effective reference price.

This reference price should be a focus in 2023, according to Wayne Stoskopf, director for public policy for risk management and tax at National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) .

“The effective reference price is definitely something we want to maintain,” he says. “We’re looking at how much it would cost, as well as some of the potential benefits, if it or the statutory reference price we’re to be increased.”

Read more: ARC or PLC - Which Do I Choose for 2023

Goule echoed Stoskopf, saying with the increase in the cost of goods, services and inputs since 2018, a $5.50 reference price for wheat is “simply not a realistic backstop” of what it costs to produce a bushel of wheat in the U.S.

“We’re encouraging Congress to increase budget authority so we can raise the reference price to something that’s reflective of our current circumstances and potential costs in coming years,” Goule says.

3. Trade

U.S. ag exports reached a record high of $196.4 billion in fiscal year 2022, according to USDA. With $237 million in funding for the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development Program (FMD) for 2023, Seyfert foresees another export record. However, her team thinks more funding could be impactful.

“We’re looking to double funding for MAP and FMD in the next farm bill,” she says. “A jump to $400 million and $69 million, respectively, will help us continue to build relationships internationally.”

Read more: SHIP IT Act Could Save Truck Drivers Up to $10,000 and Cover CDL Costs

According to Seyfert, ASA and other associations feel increased investments will open new doors to untapped markets overseas.

Southwest Airlines Could Soon be Fueled by Soybeans

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 17:49:10 GMT

Southwest Airlines (SWA) is the latest airline to catch a ride with sustainable aviation fuel . Southwest joins Delta, JetBlue and United in giving sustainable aviation fuel a lift with both short-term and long-term commitments.

Just this week, Southwest Airlines announced by 2030, the airline plans to replace 10% of its total jet fuel consumption with the sustainable aviation fuel.

Within the commitment, the airline will establish a partnership with Nestle for up to 5 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel through December 2023. Southwest says it will also work with Marathon Petroleum Corporation and Philips 66 to ramp up production of standard aviation fuel.

“SWA’s list of partners, which includes Nestle, Marathon Petroleum, and Phillips 66, reads like a who’s who in the renewable fuel business and speaks to their commitment to sustainable aviation fuels,” says Peter Meyer, head of Grain and Oilseed Analytics, S&P Global Platts .

Longer-term, Southwest says the ultimate objective is to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and calls the move to sustainable aviation fuel “an important step.”

“Southwest is making sustainability a priority in order to continue connecting customers to what’s important in their lives while striving to achieve our carbon neutrality goals,” said Stacy Malphurs , vice president of supply chain management & environmental sustainability for Southwest. “Our goal to reduce, replace, offset, and partner are important next steps in the journey to build a holistic approach to improve our environmental sustainability.”

Airlines Fueled by Soybeans

Meyer and S&P Global Platts have been some of the leading groups exploring how sustainable aviation fuel could change the U.S. soybean industry. The latest announcement by Southwest continues to fuel the argument that renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel could be U.S soybean growers’ ticket to increased domestic demand.

“The light might be dimming in ethanol, but there’s a brighter light down the line as far as renewable fuel is concerned,” Meyer adds.

Meyer says the energy transition away from fossil fuels will require more renewable fuel production. Currently, S&P Global Platts says only half a dozen plants are currently online, with more than 20 still in the development stage, as announcements continue to take place.

“The fact of the matter is that, in our opinion, by the year 2025 we will need 40 billion pounds of feedstock to keep the renewable energy refineries running,” says Meyer.

S&P Global Platts thinks the potential is so large, renewable diesel and aviation fuels made from soybeans could be bigger than what ethanol was for corn in the first couple of decades of the 2000s. As a result, he says the U.S. will become less dependent on China for needed soybean demand, a country that is currently the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans.

“What’s going to happen is you’re going to see these renewable diesel plants, sustainable aviation fuel plants, and a domestication of U.S. soybean production, which means we will be impervious to all sorts of issues that are going on in China and elsewhere. We’re going to be able to use it if we can get the crush capacity,” Meyer says.

White House Commits to Sustainable Fuel

The race to reduce airplane emissions is gaining traction. While airlines have discussed ways to reduce air traffic’s carbon footprint, going electric isn’t an option today. Instead, the Biden administration says it’s setting a lofty goal: eliminate the airline industry’s fossil fuel usage by 2050.

“There are other ways in which biofuels can be used,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Farm Journal’s Clinton Griffiths during a town hall in September . “And I think you’re going to see in the very near future a commitment by this administration, as it relates to aviation and marine fuel. It opens up a whole new vista for the biofuel industry.”

An Ethanol Moment

Renewable diesel and standard aviation fuel could help U.S. soybean industry reduce its dependence on countries like China, while providing soybeans with its “ethanol moment.”

Dan Basse, president of AgResource Company, told Farm Journal editors that the dramatic development of the U.S. renewable diesel industry is similar to how ethanol changed the U.S. corn industry from 2007 to 2010, and he believes renewable diesel could be more disruptive.

“We are calling for 90.5 million soybean acres in 2022 versus this year’s 87 million, and that just gets us started in meeting renewable diesel demand,” he says. “Then we’d need to increase soybean acres by 5 million to 7 million each year. We have to top 120 million acres of soybeans to meet the growing demand for renewable diesel.”

As more oil companies invest in soybean crushing plants, some agricultural economists and analysts think the boon in demand could hit in the 2023 crop year.

Read, watch and listen to more insights about renewable diesel .