From staff reports The U.S Department of Treasury’s recent decision to modify the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation model has concerned some corn growers.
This model will determine greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements under the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides tax credits for biofuels that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% or more. Missouri Corn Growers Association President Brent Hoerr said that dictating specific practices for farmers to play in the market is not feasible.
“The original GREET model was widely respected as an industry standard in measuring greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. “The Department of Treasury took a complicated and technical model and made it even more convoluted by tying the future of sustainable aviation fuel to an unrealistic onesize- fits-all approach. Requiring farmers to utilize all three production practices, no-till, enhanced efficiency fertilizers, and cover crops, as a baseline to qualify for the tax credit does not work for Missouri and across the Corn Belt.
“As it stands, no Missouri ethanol plant and only a small percentage of corn acres would qualify under these requirements. Not only does this approach ignore the innovative strides corn farmers are making, but requiring specific farming practices is not practical given the different soil types and growing regions. Farmers should be able to choose the best practices on their farms.
“Corn growers have been diligently focused on ensuring cornbased ethanol qualifies for the available sustainable aviation fuels tax credits. More work must be done to ensure corn farmers have a seat at the table in the next version of the guidelines, specifically the 45Z clean fuel production tax credit. The devil is in the details, and MCGA is working to ensure farmers retain control over their farming practices and data while participating in opportunities for sustainable aviation fuel.”