No. 179 June 17, 2021
![]() TOP STORY USDA Announces Additional Support for Biofuels ![]() ![]() On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced $700 million in COVID-19 support for biofuels producers. The funding comes through USDA's Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative, which it announced in March to provide additional pandemic assistance funds to farmers and sectors that struggled to get payments from previous rounds of COVID-19 relief. "USDA is honoring its commitment to get financial assistance to producers and critical agricultural businesses, especially those left out or underserved by previous COVID aid," said Secretary Vilsack.
When the total $6 billion in pandemic assistance for the agriculture industry was announced in March, CEO Emily Skor released the following statement:
“We are pleased that USDA plans to provide long-awaited assistance to biofuel producers, who were some of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Skor. “At its lowest, over half of the industry was offline.
“Secretary Vilsack’s announcement that aid is on the way is a light at the end of the tunnel. We look forward to working with USDA as they iron out the full details of this program for biofuel producers and revitalize the rural economy.”
WORKING FOR YOU IN MARKET DEVELOPMENT Lorenz Participates in Farm Futures Panel IN GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Skor To Testify Before Senate Ag Committee
Growth Energy Praises Bicameral Democrat Support of RFS, Certainty for Biofuels IN REGULATORY AFFAIRS Growth Energy to CARB: Biofuels Should Be Included in Advanced Clean Cars II ON THE TRACK NASCAR Debut: Get Bioethanol IN OUR ASSOCIATION Nutrien Unveils 2021 Carbon Pilot Program Portfolio UPCOMING EVENTS
NASCAR Cup Series June 20 (Nashville, TN)
July 13 - 15 (Des Moines, Iowa)
2021 Corn Congress July 12 - 15
IN MARKET DEVELOPMENT Lorenz Participates in Farm Futures Panel ![]() This week, Senior Vice President of Market Development Mike Lorenz spoke at a Farm Futures Summit panel about the future of ethanol. Lorenz, who spent 20 years at Sheetz as Vice President of Fuels, was able to share his perspective as a retailer who offered higher blends of ethanol as a fuel option for consumers - and how he believes they are the future as more and more drivers make choices based on their lifestyle and principles. “After 20 years as Executive Vice President of Petroleum Supply at Sheetz, I’m thrilled to be the newest member of the Growth Energy team, which has been the ethanol industry’s most engaged presence in retail markets," said Lorenz. "In my previous role, we prioritized giving our customers more choices both inside the store and at the gas island. Just as we offered healthy food options inside, we offered consumers higher blends of ethanol like E15 and E85 at the gas island.
"I championed renewable and alternative fuel choices in my role at Sheetz with biofuels and EV charging stations. Being a successful retailer is about anticipating market trends and satisfying consumers’ needs. There is a growing desire for cleaner transportation options, but I can tell you from my experience, at both Sheetz and as a trader with Exxon, that internal combustion engines will be on the road for decades to come. We’re primed to play an important role alongside other clean solutions in this transition both at home and abroad, where higher blends of ethanol, like E15, are seen as a solution for decarbonizing transportation and improving the environment today, all at a lower price.” For more information, please contact Senior Vice President of Market Development Mike Lorenz.
IN GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Skor to Testify Before Senate Ag Committee On Tuesday, June 22nd, at 8:30 AM CT/9:30 AM ET, CEO Emily Skor will testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy hearing entitled, “Renewable Energy – Growth and Opportunities for our Rural Economies”.
In her testimony, Skor will share data from a new economic study authored by ABF Economics on the impact a move to nationwide E15 would have on clean energy jobs, household income, and the nation's GDP. Be sure to tune in next week!
Growth Energy Praises Bicameral Democrat Support of RFS, Certainty for Biofuels Yesterday, Democrat members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate took action together on behalf of farmers and biofuels producers across the country. Following reports that the Biden Administration is considering reducing biofuel blending obligations to appease oil refiners, 16 Members of Congress sent a letter to Michael Regan, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Brian Deese, Director of the National Economic Council, urging the administration to reject granting handouts to the oil industry. In the following statement, Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor praised the Members' united front:
“The reported handouts to oil companies looking to avoid their biofuel blending obligations would be a complete reversal of the Biden Administration’s repeated and unequivocal promises to support clean energy jobs and uphold the integrity of the Renewable Fuel Standard,” said Skor. “Giving in to oil refiners’ repeated claims of economic strain would also backtrack our nation’s progress of moving toward a cleaner energy transportation future through higher biofuel blends.
“This bicameral letter from Democratic members who represent a wide constituency, reflects broad national support of cleaner fuel choices. We thank the 16 Members of the House and Senate for backing our industry and will continue pushing for Administrator Regan and Director Deese to stand with clean, homegrown biofuels.” For more information, please contact Vice President of Government Affairs John Fuher.
IN REGULATORY AFFAIRS Growth Energy to CARB: Biofuels Should Be Included in Advanced Clean Cars II In a letter to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley outlined how ethanol can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and why California should include higher blends in its Advanced Clean Cars II proposal.
"We sincerely appreciate the California Air Resources Board's attention and hard work to reshape California's transportation mix to make it more sustainable," wrote Bliley. "This objective is a central driver for our industry, and we look forward to continuing our work with California on our common goals as you develop the next clean cars regulation.
"Specifically, liquid fuels will continue to play an important role in the transportation sector, even as alternative technologies flourish. As such, it is imperative to consider the vital role that environmentally sustainable fuel options such as bioethanol will play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the current and future California vehicle fleet." For more information, please contact Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley. ON THE TRACK NASCAR Debut: Get Bioethanol On Sunday, Austin Dillon will debut the new “Get Bioethanol” car in Nashville, showcasing the performance benefits of racing with engine smart and earth kind bioethanol blended fuel, Sunoco Green E15. Whether it’s delivering cleaner and cooler high octane on the racetrack or on your drive to the grocery store, plant-based bioethanol makes a lasting positive impact on our planet.
“People are looking for simple lifestyle changes to help the planet, and one way is to switch to a higher blend of bioethanol. We are excited to debut the new Get Bioethanol car with NASCAR, a move that allows us to showcase our global commitment to bettering the environment,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor.
The race will take place on Sunday, June 20th at 2:30 PM CT at Nashville Superspeedway. Catch it live on Fox Sports. ![]() For more information, please contact Director of Sales and Marketing Ryan Welsh.
IN OUR ASSOCIATION Nutrien Unveils 2021 Carbon Pilot Program Portfolio Nutrien, the world's largest provider of crop inputs and services, has announced its 2021 pilot program portfolio in North America to identify the best path to successfully scale its carbon program, which it announced in 2020. The portfolio leverages Nutrien's unique end-to-end capabilities while engaging a broad base of key industry partners and supply chain stakeholders across Canada and the U.S. including American Farmland Trust, BASF, Corteva Agriscience, Ingredion, Maple Leaf Foods, PepsiCo, and Syngeta.
"Nutrien's carbon program showcases how we're delivering on our sustainability commitments through collaboration - creating a network of growers, suppliers, government, and industry players to gather key learnings and scale this important initiative," said Mayo Schmidt, president and CEO at Nutrien. "No one company, no single government and no standalone framework of regulations can effectively tackle the climate action we need alone. Only by working together can we make the meaningful changes needed to preserve our planet for future generations."
In the U.S., Nutrien grower customers in 15 states will plan to generate carbon assets for voluntary markets for purchase by broad base of agricultural and non-agricultural buyers generated by utilizing the most recent Climate Action Reserve and Verra agricultural protocols. Execution partners ESMC and Soil and Water Outcome Fund have guidelines and protocols that will be leveraged to create the carbon assets.
Learnings from these pilots will inform the development of future program design to streamline data collection, enhance agronomic advice, reliably measure environmental outcomes and provide a flexible path to monetary value that is scalable across Nutrien's global footprint. For more information, please contact Vice President of Membership Kelly Manning.
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