Ag Beats Big Oil As US Hikes 2017 Biofuel Targets

Nov 25, 2016

The US government will require energy companies to use a record amount of biofuel next year, a victory for Midwest farmers that supply ethanol makers over oil firms that say using more biofuels in gasoline and diesel is costly and unachievable.

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2005, was designed to curb greenhouse gas emissions, promote energy independence and boost rural economies by raising demand for biofuels.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a statement on Wednesday set the target for total renewable fuel use at 19.28 billion gallons for 2017, higher than the 18.8 billion gallons the EPA initially proposed in May. The EPA bumped up the volumes after the US government revised its 2017 gasoline demand forecast.

The total requirement marked a 6% rise from this year's 18.11 billion gallons and was larger than some in the industry had expected.

The EPA is required to set annual targets by the RFS for how much ethanol and biodiesel needs to be blended with gasoline and diesel.

The requirements include 15 billion gallons for conventional biofuel, which is mainly corn-based ethanol. That marked the first time the EPA has hit a target laid out by Congress in 2007.

EPA set the advanced biofuels mandate at 4.28 billion gallons, confirming figures Reuters previously reported. The advanced biofuels category includes a variety of fuels considered more environmentally friendly than ethanol.

Wednesday's plan marked the final RFS mandates from the Obama administration, which biofuels advocates previously said had fallen short of targets to promote their fuels.

The administration began to pull back on the targets in 2013 due to what it described as marketplace challenges. Those challenges have eased as low oil prices lifted fuel demand, making the 2007 Congressional volume targets easier to reach.

"These final standards will boost production, providing for ambitious yet achievable growth of biofuels in the transportation sector," EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Janet McCabe said in a statement.

BIG OIL VS BIG CORN

The move marked a victory for the US ethanol industry after years of battling regulators to increase the mandates to the 15-billion-gallon target.

Biofuels groups have taken the EPA to court over whether the agency has the authority to lower the targets. The oil industry has said the targets were unachievable due to the "blend wall," the saturation point for ethanol content in gasoline.

The final plan drew praise from biofuels advocates and criticism from the oil industry.

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Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.