Despite a dramatic drop in agricultural exports to China, it is the Trump Administration’s handling of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that has many farmers so upset that it could cause a political fallout for President Donald Trump. Corn and soybean farmers are calling for action from the President now if he wants to maintain his approval rating in rural America.

In the wake of new plant closures, farmers hosted a media call recently to urge Trump to restore the biofuel demand lost due to the Environmental Protection Agency’s overuse of small refinery exemptions (SREs) under the RFS. Since taking office, Trump Administration has granted oil companies 85 special biofuel exemptions that amount to 4.04 billion gal., resulting in reduced corn demand due to lower ethanol blending and consumption and a rising number of ethanol producers slowing or idling production, including Siouxland Energy.

Kelly Nieuwenhuis, a farmer near Primghar, Iowa, a member of the Iowa Corn Growers Assn. and president of the board at Siouxland Energy, offered no sympathy for EPA’s actions on the waivers. “We realize it’s his EPA; he’s the one they answer to,” Niehwenhuis said. When news came out of the additional 31 waivers granted, he said many farmers saw it as the last straw.

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Ethanol prices dropped 18-20 cents/gal. in the two days following the EPA announcement of the waivers.

Niehwenhuis was forced to make the tough decision to idle his plant after the SREs created demand destruction. He noted that a year ago, the ethanol plant was debt free, but it has burned through its cash in the last few months and now has loans from the bank. He’s still hopeful that, with quick action, he can bring Siouxland Energy back on line.

“We need those [lost gallons] to start getting reallocated right now,” Niehwenhuis stated, adding that there’s no reason an announcement can’t be made in the next two weeks.

Daryl Haack, another corn farmer from Primghar, Iowa, and member of the board of Little Sioux Corn Processors, treasurer of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Assn. and committee member of Iowa Corn Industrial Usage & U.S. Production, said his ethanol plant has been able to keep running, but he figures if not for the extra 1 billion bu. of corn demand lost, the corn market would have likely been $1/bu. higher to help corn farmers.

Haack said his board met with U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa) to share that other board members at the table all considered themselves staunch Republicans yet are unsure how they’re going to vote in 2020. “They may not vote for the current President. That’s a concern he needs to be feeling,” Haack said. “This is going to be a problem that farmers and ethanol industry leaders are noticing.”

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Ron Heck, a soybean farmer from Perry, Iowa, secretary of the National Biodiesel Board and former president of the Iowa Soybean Assn., said the exemptions have hit the biodiesel and renewable diesel industry very hard and sent shockwaves across the industry, with nine plants already shut down. Heck, who was an early Trump supporter and still serves on Trump’s rural advisory committee, continues to urge the President to restore the lost demand right away. He said the 63 cents/bu. damage to soybean the market comes at a time when farmers are already losing half of their income -- and the damage is immediate as farmers approach harvest.

“We need something to happen right now,” Heck said. “[Trump needs to] reign in his EPA right now, or there will be political consequences to that because of the economic damage we’re suffering right now.”

Niehwenhuis noted that Iowa – a battleground state – is one-third Republican and one-third Democrat, with the remaining voting independent. He said Trump’s political future rests in his ability to get the SRE situation fixed and gallons reallocated, “or it will be tough for him to win in rural America.”

Niehwenhuis said he hears people talk about tariffs and China, they understand what Trump is doing there and offer him patience on that front. However, he added, “They don’t understand the SREs and see it as a give away to oil companies and taking away from farmers.”

State leaders of corn grower organizations in 23 states also sent a letter calling on Trump to follow the law and keep the RFS whole. The state corn grower leaders urge the President to stop the harm caused by waivers and restore integrity to the RFS by directing EPA to account for projected waivers beginning with the pending 2020 RFS volume rule.

“Corn farmers are not asking for a special deal. We are simply asking, as we have been for the past two years, that your EPA uphold the law,” the letter stated.

Press reports indicated that, following a meeting with farm-state lawmakers, an agreement had been reached to address the harm caused by the waivers. “With more than 4 billion gal. waived out of the RFS, we appreciate you listening to our elected representatives about what is needed to restore meaning to the RFS. Farmers across the country are anxiously awaiting the release of more details about this agreement,” the letter added.