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NCGA president says RFS increase not enough

The head of the National Corn Growers Association says EPA’s latest volumes for ethanol under the RFS are not what corn farmers need…

“We’re glad that they moved in a better direction than where the numbers were but we are still disappointed that they’re below statute levels.”

Chip Bowling, a farmer in Maryland, tells Brownfield corn growers need more, “We have a lot of corn acres to go in the ground this year. Despite the weather we’re predicting another very good average yield across the country. And we need to find a home for this corn that we’re growing.”

The EPA will hold a public hearing on the draft proposal for 2017 on June 9th in Kansas City. Bowling says that’s a good opportunity for agriculture, “This renewable fuels standard means a lot to American agriculture, not just corn farmers but a lot to agriculture. So, we don’t think we’ll have a problem getting farmers to speak or the community to speak their mind and get the EPA to try to change their mind.”

The RFS calls for 15 Billion gallons of ethanol but the proposal for 2017 is 14.8 billion gallons.

AUDIO: Interview with Chip Bowling: