U.S. Cattle Industry Has Concerns with Trump's New E15 Policy

U.S. Cattle Industry Has Concerns with Trump's New E15 Policy

Russell Nemetz
Russell Nemetz
This week President Trump announced the lifting of a ban on summer sales of gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol, known as E15.

"My administration is protecting ethanol and today we are unleashing the power of E15 to fuel our country all year long," Trump told a cheering crowd of supporters at a rally Tuesday in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

The announcement capped a months-long effort by the White House to thread the needle between rival corn and oil industry interests, by boosting ethanol demand while also cutting costs for refiners.

The U.S. livestock industry is also unsure about the announcement. Corn is a major feedstuff for livestock producers and many are wondering what this week's announcement will do to corn prices and input costs for livestock producers.

"There's no doubt that it will have an impact on corn supplies, corn demand and of course corn prices" said Colin Woodall, NCBA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. "Right now, I think it's too early to really tell what that's going to be. When you look at corn prices they have been in the dumps for quite some time. I don't necessarily believe that we're going to get back to those corn highs of 2008 and 2009 but more than likely there will be an uptick."

In the end, Trump is moving ahead without the support of the oil refining industry, which wanted more in return for agreeing to lift the summer ban.

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