11-15 IAN Ethanol Fairness

 I’ve encountered  a number of stories recently about the challenges confronting people in the beef industry. Cattlemen are hurting nationwide and most certainly here in Idaho. Droughts throughout the Southwest have reduced cattle stock. We have been shipping hay from Idaho to Oklahoma and Texas in record proportions because there is no feed down there. What about corn? I am all for alternative energy. There is a very complex balance in the ethanol industry and it is sad that you can’t keep everybody happy with one resource. Ethanol producers want corn, dairy producers want corn, beef producers want corn, and unfortunately inequities occur. Kevin Kester is a fifth generation rancher. Over the years - he says his family has met and overcome numerous challenges that are characteristic of the business. But today - Kester says he faces a challenge that has resulted from the nation’s renewable energy policies.

 Representing the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association during a conference call to introduce the Renewable Fuels Standard Flexibility Act - Kester spoke in an effort to inject common sense into those policies.  “I want to be very clear. the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is not opposed to ethanol. We just want to have a fair shake to compete head to head for a bushel of corn and to stop the government intrusion into the private marketplace. Unfortunately the 1-2-3 punch of the blenders credit, the import tariff and the production mandates have resulted in an artificial manipulation of the price of corn and also have put a strain on the availability of feed.