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Fargo, North Dakota – An announcement was made yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding its proposed rule on the 2017 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). EPA’s proposed rule on the 2017 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) will set the 2017 conventional biofuel (corn) level at 14.8 billion gallons which is an increase from 14.5 billion gallons in 2016, but less than the 2007 statutory level of 15.0 billion gallons. Public comments regarding the EPA’s rule can be made through July 11, 2016.
Carson Klosterman, president of the North Dakota Corn Growers, released the following statement:
“The EPA’s decision to move the level of conventional biofuel (corn) up from 14.5 billion to 14.8 billion gallons is appreciated however we were hoping they could have found a way to take the level to the statutory level of 15.0 billion gallons. The RFS is working to make our air cleaner and has spurred investment in rural communities and created high-tech jobs. Just in North Dakota, in 2015, over 400 million gallons of ethanol and 1.3 million tons of dried distiller’s grains (ddgs) were produced from approximately 166 million bushels of corn, which is about 40% of the North Dakota 2015 corn crop.”
“Our mission at ND Corn is to reduce the corn pile and to increase the value of corn for our producers. Ethanol production is one of the main uses of corn to meet our mission. We have worked with our state ethanol industry to expand the availability of ethanol and to provide our producers with an increased market price for corn. Corn farmers are encouraged to write to the EPA by the July 11 deadline and ask EPA to raise the RVO to the statutory level of 15.0 billion gallons for conventional biofuel (corn) production.”
Renewable Fuel Volume Requirements for 2014-2018
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| Cellulosic biofuel (million gallons) | 33 | 123 | 230 | 312* | n/a |
| Biomass-based diesel (billion gallons) | 1.63 | 1.73 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.1* |
| Advanced biofuel (billion gallons) | 2.67 | 2.88 | 3.61 | 4.0* | n/a |
| Conventional biofuel – corn (billion gals) | 13.61 | 14.05 | 14.5 | 14.8* | n/a |
| Renewable fuel (billion gallons)** | 16.28 | 16.93 | 18.11 | 18.8* | n/a |
*Proposed Volume Requirements
**Advanced biofuel plus Conventional biofuel (corn) = total Renewable Fuel.
The North Dakota Corn Growers Association (NDCGA) is the farmer-led organization focusing on policy that impacts North Dakota corn producers. The NDCGA consists of 14 growers from 7 districts along with 4 at-large directors. The NDCUC and NDCGA work together to grow a healthy, profitable business climate for northern corn.
North Dakota Corn Growers Statement on EPA
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