New EPA biofuel targets dent corn’s demand prospects

At the very least, lower usage targets for both ethanol and other biofuels are 
expected to reduce interest in expanding production in the sector

Many corn traders tried to shrug off the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to trim the U.S. renewable fuels usage targets for 2014 and 2015, noting that U.S. ethanol production is driven more by operating margins than government-mandated blending requirements and is likely to remain high as long as ethanol makers can make profits. But

Ethanol eyed for lowering U.S. surplus sugar mountain

Reuters / The U.S. government is readying a tool created during last decade’s biofuels craze — a never-used program to sell sugar at a loss to ethanol makers — as a way to whittle a looming sugar surplus down to an affordable size. The sugar-for-ethanol program could be a lower-cost way for the Agriculture Department


Talking turkey over energy

The pre-American Thanksgiving decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to deny the meat industry requests for a waiver on that country’s renewable fuel standard did little to calm the rhetoric between the livestock and ethanol sectors over who should have access to limited corn supplies this year. Shortly after the announcement, the National Turkey

U.S. upholds ethanol mandate

Reuters – The United States upheld its program to turn a large share of the corn crop into ethanol for motor fuel Nov. 16, saying it did not cause undue economic harm despite steep competition for depleted U.S. grain supplies after the worst drought in 50 years. In August, as the drought seared the Midwest,


Ethanol output to drop 10 per cent

U.S. ethanol production will fall by 10 per cent in the coming year as rising prices from the drought cut exports in half, a University of Missouri think-tank forecast on Aug. 28. The Obama administration is weighing whether to relax a requirement to use corn-based ethanol in gasoline as meat and dairy farmers complain that

Booming Ethanol Biz Alters Corn Use Patterns

U. S . A g r i c u l t u r e Department officials faced criticism over recent forecasts that have roiled the grains market, saying that the explosive growth of the ethanol sector had upended traditional patterns. The robust growth of the ethanol sector in the last few years has altered the


Food-Versus-Fuel Debate Rages Anew

Ethanol appears almost certain to win the food-versus- fuel contest in the United States. But not just yet. The Agriculture Department forecast that a tad more corn will be used to make ethanol than to feed livestock this year may be a false milestone: ethanol makers say they won’t use that much corn while producing

U.S. Ethanol Incentives Under Scrutiny

Reform of U.S. ethanol incentives could save up to $5.7 billion a year, a congressional watchdog said March 1 as ethanol critics called on Congress to let the tax breaks expire at the end of this year. In an examination of federal spending, the Government Accountability Office said the ethanol tax credit and a federal


Food Groups Sue U.S. For Ethanol Boost In Gasoline

Livestock producers and food industry groups filed a suit on Nov. 9 seeking to overturn a U.S. decision to allow higher levels of ethanol in gasoline, saying it could push up food prices. The Grocery Manufacturers Association, the National Meat Association and other groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency, saying regulators overstepped their authority when

U. S. Ethanol Makers Seek Renewal Of Tax Breaks

Attacked as subsidy addicts, U. S. ethanol makers may need help from friends in high places, including the White House, to hold on to lucrative tax breaks set to expire at the end of the year. The industry says it is ready to discuss revisions in the incentives, worth $6 billion a year. An amalgam