More On Biodiesel Setbacks

More On Biodiesel Setbacks. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

The biodiesel industry has been setback recently. A press conference held last week took a look at some of those setbacks and also provided support for the industry. U.S. Senators Heidi Heitkamp from ND, Maria Cantwell from WA, Amy Klobuchar from MN, Al Franken also from MN, and Indiana’s Joe Donnelly IN took part. The Senators released a new survey showing the impact of uncertainty on biofuel production and workforce. Cantwell said that the industry faces two challenges; one is the Renewable Fuels Standard and the other is the Biodiesel Tax Credit.

CANTWELL: The Renewable Fuels Standard requirement is part of a process that is reset every year and it set that amount of biofuel mix. So with us producing 1.7 billion gallons of diesel in 2013 the Obama Administration has proposed a lower floor so we want to see that changed. We do not want to have 12-thousand jobs in the United States of America hurt or those investments hurt and so we want the administration to reconsider their decision.

She says there is a more positive note to discuss.

CANTWELL: The Biodiesel Tax Credit that also gives investors certainty and predictability, is moving through right now as part of the extenders package. So, we do not want to see an extenders package fail or be done at the end of the year or next year or have the uncertainty on this tax credit. The more certainty we can give to these investors the more investment we will see in biodiesel.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.