Drought and Renewable Fuel Standard Driving Up Consumer Costs

…The U.S. government can help food and livestock feed prices during this drought by issuing a waiver that reduces the ethanol mandate, but so far, the EPA has not indicated a willingness to do so. The United States is now the largest exporter of ethanol in the world taking over that distinction from Brazil. Because of the excess ethanol production resulting from the mandate, ethanol producers requested EPA to increase the ethanol blending ratio with gasoline from 10 percent to 15 percent despite problems that level of ethanol will cause to small engines and in most cars since only 4 percent of those used in the United States were designed for the higher level of ethanol blend.

Our government can take positive action by allowing the waiver, which will cost it nothing. Regarding the waiver, Mr. Randy Spronk, a pork farmer in Edgerton, Minnesota and the incoming president of the National Pork Producers’ Council , said, “If not now, when? Livestock producers are getting killed out here with feed prices.” And that means higher food prices for us consumers as well.