The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a set of new regulations regarding the expanded Renewable Fuel Standard. The deadline for comment is Sept. 25, and the Iowa Corn Growers Association and the National Corn Growers Association are now preparing a comprehensive response.

“We invite you to help us with this,” says Mindy Larsen Poldberg, government relations director for ICGA.  For more detailed information, talking points and to make comments, go to www.ncga.com and click on the “Action Alert” link. You can choose and modify the messages you wish to send to EPA. “This is a quick and easy project – and you need to take action today,” she says.

These messages include:

* A vital flaw in the proposed rule remains. The methodology used to measure the impacts of U.S. corn and ethanol production on the issue of International Land Use Change or Indirect Land Use is flawed and immature. There is no evidence to support EPA’s claim that corn production in the U.S. has any impact on the production of crops in other countries such as Brazil.

* The current proposed rule has the potential to place a huge burden on corn growers, by requiring proof that feedstocks used for ethanol production came from cropland which was in production prior to 2007. These proposed methods are unreasonable and unworkable.

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Wallaces Farmer
Rod Swoboda