Texas Governor Rick Perry has announced that his state is joining the growing list of those requesting a waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard mandate. More than 180 members of Congress, the governors of Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Mexico and North Carolina, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and other livestock groups have turned to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson to waive the RFS and bring relief from high corn prices to the thousands of producers struggling to feed their animals because of the worst drought in 50 years. NCBA Vice President and Texas cattleman Bob McCan says the RFS mandate creates an uneven playing field for farmers and ranchers – and has directly affected the cost of feed in agricultural parts of the country – which could lead to an increase in food prices for consumers. Noting Texas is the largest beef cattle state in the country – McCan says Governor Perry’s announcement makes it clear that cattlemen and women nationwide are continuing to experience the negative effects of the drought.
Texas Cattle Feeders Association Chairman Jim Peters says he’s pleased that a growing number of bipartisan governors and members of Congress from around the country are requesting a common sense waiver that will provide livestock producers and consumers with some relief from the RFS. Peters isn’t sure how anyone could still believe the RFS isn’t a market distorting government policy that props up the ethanol industry at the expense of livestock producers and consumers. He says it is an ill-conceived, economically harmful federal policy.
Source: NAFB News Service