Texas ranchers call on EPA to lift RFS standard

The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Wednesday to waive the current Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) in light of corn shortages and soaring feed costs across the U.S. According to TSCRA, the government mandates that 40 percent of the U.S. annual corn crop go directly toward ethanol production; however, federal law does allow the EPA administrator to waive this requirement for up to 1 year if the implementation would severely harm the economy or environment of a state, a region or the U.S. “As record drought conditions throughout the U.S. continue to push corn yields lower and prices upward, the economic ramifications for consumers, livestock and animal agriculture producers will become even more severe,” said Joe Parker Jr., rancher and TSCRA president, in comments submitted to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. “These ramifications are particularly severe in Texas, the leading cattle producing state in the nation.” Parker says that last year was the first year ever that ethanol production used more corn than all animal agriculture combined. With corn supplies continuing to tighten across the U.S., the current RFS standard is only compounding the situation by reducing the already extremely limited amount of corn available for feed...more