Ag updates: Celebrate Beef Month; handling farm stressors; 'regenerative' farming limits; what is 'acequia' irrigation?

"Round-up scenes in Belle Fouche" by John C. H. Grabill. (Library of Congress photo via Ag Clips)

May is National Beef Month, and possibly the best time to look back at the country's short but impactful cattle drive history, which began around 1866 and ended in the 1890s. "The biggest legacy of the cattle drives exists in popular culture. The cattle drives occurred in a time when the United States was shifting from an agrarian-based society to a more industrial and urban society," reports Morning Ag Clips. "Because of this shift, the cowboys and ranch life were looked on with nostalgia as 'simpler times,' and they became a popular subject for stories and songs."

With tariffs, weather, bird flu and hi-input costs, U.S. farmers are unsurprisingly stressed. Burnout and depression can easily follow emotions run ragged by an ever-changing commodities landscape. "This sort of chronic stress complicates decision-making and other aspects of managing a farm or ranch," reports Raylene Nickel for Successful Farming. "If you recognize signs of stress and burnout, do these six things to help yourself cope or recover: Take care of your physical self, surround yourself with good people, take charge of your thoughts, build spiritual capital, find ways to reduce stress, seek help. 

In a letter to Ford President and CEO Jim Farley, a coalition of U.S. corn growers asked Farley to reconsider the company's move away from flex fuel vehicle production and to "reengage in advancing renewable fuel technologies that support rural America," reports Jesse Allen for American Ag Network. "The letter highlights the critical role American-grown ethanol plays in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening energy independence, and supporting local economies."

Regenerative farming may not be as
"green" as it sounds. (New Lede photo)

"Regenerative" agriculture may be healthy farming's new buzzword, but food producers and buyers should be aware of the label's limitations. "Proponents of regenerative farming say the practice can mitigate harmful climate change, reduce water pollution, and make foods more nutritious as farmers focus on improving the health of soil, water, and ecosystems," reports Carey Gillam for The New Lede. "That momentum comes with a dirty dark side, according to a new report [that] asserts regenerative programs, which generally allow for the use of weedkillers and other chemicals, are being used to 'greenwash' routine use of several dangerous pesticides on farm fields. . . .Corporations that sell such pesticides are entwined with the movement. . ."

An illustration of how acequias work.
(Drawing by Jerold Widdison via Civil Eats)

Southwestern farmers grappling with arid conditions brought on by climate change revived the ancient 'acequia' irrigation system to address water shortage problems. "Time-tested solutions like this one could hold the key to mitigating the worst impacts of climate change, especially in rural communities," reports Samuel Gilbert for Civil Eats. "In the San Luis Valley, in south-central Colorado, 130 gravity-flow ditches irrigated 30,000 acres of farmland and 10,000 acres of wetlands." Devon Peña, founder of The Acequia Institute, told Gilbert, "This is an incredibly productive, resilient, and sustainable system."

Opinion: New administration can support farmers and improve rural America's economies with four 'key steps'

John Bode

Some American farmers and farm workers voted for President Donald Trump, and some didn't, but most are counting on support from the new administration.

In his opinion for AgriPulse, John Bode describes how agribusiness workers are "eager to pursue a more prosperous rural America." He outlines four "key steps" the new administration could draw upon, which he believes would support economic growth and development in many parts of rural America.

Removing limiting regulations is the first step. Bode explains, "Deregulation does not mean elimination of regulation. Regulations provide such essential assurances as product safety and environmental protection. But a stable, rational regulatory environment should also be friendly to economic growth."

Policy that supports U.S. electrical grid integrity and other energy needs is vital. "When Trump left office four years ago, the U.S. electric grid had an overall capacity that substantially exceeded peak demand," Bode adds. "The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission tripled its five-year forecast for peak electric demand. . . .Without bold policy action, America will likely experience rolling blackouts in the next five years. A reliable energy infrastructure is fundamental to economic growth."

Continuing tax cuts would help the American public, businesses and farmers. "Since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was signed into law, the American economy has had access to robust pro-growth tax policy, " Bode writes. "But many of the provisions that have helped boost business and put more money in the pockets of American workers are set to expire at the end of 2025."

Advancing American trade policy is vital to rural growth. Bode explains, "I believe [the new administration] can achieve alignment with Canada and Mexico so the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement may be refreshed to form a powerful economic platform to compete with China and other non-market economies. We should look past the dramatic tactics and focus on a strategy that advances American competitiveness."

John Bode is president and CEO of the Corn Refiners Association, the trade association representing the corn milling industry, and he chairs the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee, which advises the Department of Agriculture and U.S. Trade Representative on trade policy.

House passes bills on meatpacking, fertilizer and biofuels; meat measure up for vote in Senate Agriculture Committee

"Democrats, struggling to maintain their tenuous control over the House amid soaring food and fuel prices," sent the Senate a raft of bills Thursday "aimed at promoting competition in the meat sector, reducing fertilizer usage and expanding the use of biofuels," reports Agri-Pulse's Philip Brasher.

"Republicans portrayed the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act as a 'messaging bill' that would do little to address inflation while attempting to deflect attention from the Biden administration’s policies. But the bill passed, 221-204, with support from seven Midwest Republicans:" Dusty Johnson of South Dakota, Don Bacon of Nebraska, Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Iowans Randy Feenstra, Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Brasher reports. "Five Democrats voted no: Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Peter DeFazio of Oregon, Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Peter Welch of Vermont."

GOP critics focused on a plan to create a special investigator's office in USDA’s Packers and Stockyards Division to probe allegations of unfair trade practices in meatpacking, Brasher reports: "Other provisions are intended to allow year-round sales of E15; fund additional biofuel infrastructure; increase payments under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program for nutrient management practices; increase funding for precision agriculture; establish a USDA-run Agricultural and Food System Supply Chain Resilience and Crisis Response Task Force; and authorize loan guarantees for meat and poultry processing expansion. A Democratic amendment adopted during floor debate would authorize USDA to spend $100 million to increase domestic fertilizer production, an effort Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is already undertaking."

The Senate Agriculture Committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the its version of the investigation measure, "along with legislation to mandate minimum levels of cash trading in the cattle sector," Brasher notes. "Both measures have Senate GOP sponsors." House Agriculture Committee Chair David Scott said the need for the probe was illustrated by JBS USA CEO Tim Schellpeper's response when asked at a hearing whether packers had colluded to fix prices: “Not that I'm aware of.”

UPDATE, June 23: The Senate panel approved both bills, Successful Farming reports.

EPA makes Renewable Fuels Mandate highest yet, says more ethanol in fuel supply will help consumers

The Environmental Protection Agency has set the Renewable Fuels Mandate for refiners to its highest level yet, including 15.25 billion gallons of corn-derived ethanol this year. "Ethanol is cheaper than gasoline at present, so biofuel backers said consumers would benefit at the fuel pump with more ethanol in the gasoline supply," reports Chuck Abbott of Successful Farming.

“At EPA, we are laser-focused on providing more options for consumers at the pump, and today we are taking steps to increase the availability of homegrown biofuels,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said Friday. “Today’s actions will help to reduce our reliance on oil and put the RFS program back on track after years of challenges and mismanagement.”

"Trade groups for corn growers and ethanol makers applauded the EPA announcement," while the American Petroleum Institute complained, Abbott notes. "At 15.25 billion gallons, corn ethanol would provide the bulk of the 20.88 billion gallons in the RFS for this year. . . . Next-generation 'advanced' biofuels were set at 5.63 billion gallons in this year’s RFS, down slightly from EPA’s initial proposal. Biomass-based biodiesel would account for nearly half of it, at 2.76 billion gallons. Advanced biofuels, such as ethanol made from grasses and woody plants, have been slow to come to the market despite hopes for development of fuels that did not compete with food crops for feedstocks.

Along with setting the RFS for this year, the EPA adjusted the 2020 RFS to 18.84 billion gallons, an increase of 320 million gallons from its proposal last Dec. 7, to reflect actual ethanol use for that year. It also finalized a regulatory framework to include so-called biointermediates in the RFS. Biointermediates are feedstocks that are partially converted in one facility and processed into a RFS-eligible biofuels at another facility. Earlier this year, the EPA proposed a regulation to admit renewable diesel and other biofuels made from canola oil into the RFS.

The EPA also said it would deny a set of previously pending requests by small refineries for exemptions from the RFS at various points from 2016-2021, and proposed alternative ways from small refineries to comply with the RFS in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020.

Biden greenlights E15 summer sales, releases funding guide for local governments in rural infrastructure tour

Senior officials with the Biden administration will visit 30 rural communities this month to tout billions of dollars in funding for rural broadband, water, jobs, roads, and more as part of a "rural infrastructure tour" launched Monday. That includes $14.6 billion in rural-specific programs in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, which was bipartisan, along with billions more in regional and state funding that will be spent on roads, bridges and waterways in rural areas, Chuck Abbott reports for the Food & Environment Reporting Network.

President Biden is kicking off the tour today with a visit to an ethanol plant in Menlo, Iowa, where he will announce that E15 gasoline will be sold this summer to help drivers save at the pump, Chris Clayton reports for DTN/The Progressive Farmer.

Normally E15, which has 15 percent ethanol, can't be sold from June 1 to Sept. 15 because it generates more air pollution in hot weather. And the Supreme Court ruled in January that the Environmental Protection Agency doesn't have the authority to permanently greenlight E15 sales. But EPA is only issuing an emergency waiver here. A White House spokesperson said EPA "is considering other actions to further spur the use of E15 year-round, including continued talks with states that have already sent requests to EPA about year-round E15," Clayton reports.

The administration published a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Rural Playbook to help rural governments identify funding opportunities. "It provides information on the 'what, when, where, and how to apply' for funding under the law, according to the White House, and identifies more than 100 programs funded," Alex Gangitano reports for The Hill. "The playbook builds on the guidebook the administration released in January to help state and local governments access funding from the law."

The administration will announce $2 billion in new rural funding this month as part of the tour, White House infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu said. That includes $1 billion for an America the Beautiful Challenge "to combine federal and private funding for locally-led land and water conservation work," Abbott reports. "The government committed $440 million over five years for grants administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation." Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the funding in Colorado while touring a wildfire-control site.

Pioneering study says Renewable Fuel Standard has steadied commodity markets and boosted farmers' income

"In a first-of-its kind study, researchers at Purdue University have illustrated the impact of the Renewable Fuel Standard on the production of biofuels," Madelyn Ostendorf reports for Successful Farming. "The study evaluates the long- and short-term economic impacts of market forces and policies on the biofuels industry, and successfully identified the impact of each market driver."

The federal policy requires transportation fuel to have a minimum (increasing over time) amount of renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel made from corn and soybeans. RFS and market forces have caused biofuel production and consumption to increase in the U.S. since it was enacted in 2005. "Farzad Taheripour, the agricultural economist who led the study, says RFS played a critical role in reducing uncertainties in commodity markets," Ostendorf reports. "Most significantly, RFS helped farmers use their resources more efficiently."

Taheripour told Ostendorf, "With producing more corn and soybeans, over time farmers were able to bring fallow land back to production, and U.S. annual farm income increased by $8.3 billion between 2004 and 2011, with an additional annual income of $2.3 billion between 2011 and 2016."

The researchers used a complicated computation model that sorts commodities into categories by use (vegetable oils vs. grain meals, for example), and factors in variables such as production rate, consumption rate. "The model takes into account the use of commodity feed stocks for food and fuel, and the competition or trade-offs between those and other market uses," Taheripour told Ostendorf. "It also traces land use and handles intensification in crop production due to technological progress, multicropping, and conversion of unused cropland to crop production. This is the first biofuels study to be able to piece out all these factors individually and to combine that information with short-term models to capture finer and shorter-term impacts."

Supreme Court blocks bid to revive year-round E15 sales

"The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away an industry group's bid to revive a decision made by the Environmental Protection Agency under former President Donald Trump to allow expanded sales of gasoline that has a higher ethanol blend, called E15," Stephanie Kelly reports for Reuters. "The action by the justices dealt a blow to the ethanol industry, which wants to increase sales and access to E15. Growth Energy, a biofuels industry group that had filed a petition asking the justices to review a lower court's ruling vacating the Trump administration E15 policy, expressed disappointment in the Supreme Court's decision."

Until EPA reversed its policy in 2019, E15 sales were banned in summer because of concern that it contributes to smog on hot days. A federal appeals court panel ruled unanimously in 2021 that EPA overstepped its authority when it followed President Trump's order to allow year-round E15 sales.

"E15 is a small part of the U.S. fuel market, perhaps 520 million gallons a year, but proponents see it as a lever to expand ethanol’s share of the gasoline market, which totaled around 135 billion gallons in 2021," Chuck Abbott reports for the Food & Environment Reporting Network. "The traditional blend of ethanol is 10%."

Landowners' and environmentalists' objections to CO2 pipelines test future viability of carbon-capture programs

Navigator CO2 Ventures' proposed Heartland Greenway System
would store liquified carbon dioxide underground in Illinois

Heavy opposition to two proposed carbon-dioxide pipelines in the Midwest throws the future of carbon-capture programs into question. The pipelines would collect and liquefy carbon dioxide from Midwestern ethanol, fertilizer and other industrial-agriculture plants, then carry it thousands of miles and store it deep underground. But dozens of farmers are refusing to sell and other organizations are also rallying opposition, Leah Douglas reports for Reuters.

If the companies—Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions and Texas-based Navigator CO2 Ventures—are forced to resort to eminent domain to get the land, the pipelines could remain in limbo for years while messy courtroom battles play out, Donnelle Eller reports for the Des Moines Register. In Iowa alone, more than 400 people "have filed objections with the state's regulatory agency, questioning whether the pipelines are needed, safe and should be allowed to cross valuable farmland that's been passed down through multiple generations."

The technology is relatively untested, and landowners worry that it could damage crops or harm people. Douglas notes, "A 2020 liquid CO2 pipeline rupture in Yazoo County, Mississippi, for example, sickened dozens of people."

Summit Carbon Solutions' pipeline would store CO2 in North Dakota.

Iowa's Sierra Club chapter and other environmental groups think carbon capture and sequestration are "a lifeline to carbon-based industries, at a time when the world needs to be ending its dependence on fossil fuels in order to stave off the worst impacts of climate change," Kate Payne reports for Iowa Public Radio.

"The companies say the projects would help ethanol and other energy-intensive ag industries remain viable as the nation seeks to cut net greenhouse emissions in half by 2030 to address climate change. Summit says carbon sequestration would lower ethanol's carbon footprint to net zero by 2030 and allow it to be sold into California and other states with low carbon fuel standards," Eller reports. "Summit says it has the capacity to capture up to 12 million metric tons of carbon annually, an amount equal to removing 2.6 million vehicles from the road each year. Navigator says its pipeline has the capacity to capture about 15 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, the equivalent of removing 3.2 million vehicles from the road."

Court nixes year-round sales of gasoline with 15% ethanol

A federal appeals has thrown out a Trump-administration Environmental Protection Agency rule change that allowed sale of a 15% ethanol gasoline blend in the summer. "The decision deals a significant blow to the ethanol industry and corn farmers who grow the crop from which the fuel additive is made. They had anticipated increased ethanol demand through year-round sales of the higher blend," David Pitt reports for The Associated Press.

Most gasoline sold in the U.S. has 10% ethanol, but the EPA changed the rule in May 2019 to fulfill Trump's promises to Midwestern corn farmers. "Provisions of the Clean Air Act have prohibited the sale of certain fuels with a higher volatility from June 1 through Sept. 15 to limit smog," Pitt reports. "Congress has allowed 10% ethanol, and the EPA in its 2019 ruling revised the interpretation of the exemption to federal law to include the 15% ethanol blend."

Corn growers demand Biden climate plan prioritize ethanol

President Biden’s infrastructure plan has "massive investments in electric cars" but the biofuels industry thinks it's getting shortchanged, Ryan McCrimmon and Kelsey Tamborrino report for Politico. "Corn growers and producers of ethanol, the corn-based renewable fuel that has long enjoyed special status as a government-mandated ingredient in gasoline, would get only a tiny slice of the funds ... despite Biden’s assurances that he views them as key to reducing dependence on fossil fuels. So now they’re turning to their traditional allies in Congress to get themselves written in."

The issue is a good example of the political tightrope Biden must walk in appealing to Corn Belt biofuels producers while pursuing environmental goals. "Ethanol production supports more than 300,000 jobs concentrated in rural areas and added about $43 billion to U.S. economic output in 2019, according to the Renewable Fuels Association, a lobby group for ethanol producers," McCrimmon and Tamborrino report. "Reminders of its political importance come every four years, as presidential candidates in both parties fawn over ethanol during the primary campaigns ahead of the crucial Iowa caucuses."

EPA sides with corn and ethanol producers on small-refinery exemptions to the Renewable Fuel Standard

The Environmental Protection Agency "is changing course on small-refinery exemptions to the Renewable Fuel Standard, announcing Monday it agrees with a Court of Appeals decision last year that the agency had mismanaged the program under the Trump administration," Todd Neeley reports for DTN/The Progressive Farmer. The marked increase in such exemptions over the past four years hurt rural America and the biofuels industry, EPA said. 

"The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Denver, had ruled in January 2020 that EPA mishandled the exemptions program when it came to three small-refinery exemptions in particular. The Trump administration delayed action on the Renewable Fuel Standard to reflect the court's decision," Neeley reports. The Biden administration said it agrees with the ruling, which said the exemptions were meant to be temporary and that the agency can only extend pre-existing exemptions.

With the appeals court ruling "before the U.S. Supreme Court this spring, the EPA statement Monday means the Biden administration will not be defending the Trump administration's stance on the small-refinery exemptions to the RFS," Neeley reports.

The announcement was welcomed by corn growers and the ethanol industry, as well as the states where they have a large footprint, Neeley reports: "Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said although the Biden administration's decision is welcomed, she wants to see the Supreme Court uphold the RFS."

EPA misses Renewable Fuel Standard deadline, may punt biofuel blending decision to Biden administration

The Environmental Protection Agency missed the Nov. 30 deadline to issue biofuel blending requirements for 2021 under the Renewable Fuel Standard, and may punt the decision to the Biden administration. Normally the EPA proposes the blending requirements for the coming year in July, but did not do so this year. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler blamed the pandemic, saying the steep decline in gasoline sales this year made it difficult to predict next year's demand, Chuck Abbott reports for the Food & Environment Reporting Network.

"The agency did send a proposed blending rule to the White House for review in May, but it was developed in a pre-covid world and requires substantial revisions, per industry sources," Ryan McCrimmon reports for Politico's "Weekly Agriculture."

Growth Energy, an ethanol and biofuels trade organization, told Wheeler it will file suit if the EPA doesn't finalize the rule within 60 days. "Effectively, the 60-day deadline means Wheeler can choose not to finalize volume standards for 2021, and turn the decision over to the first few days of President-elect Joe Biden's administration," Todd Neeley reports for DTN/The Progressive Farmer. "Biden has yet to announce a nominee to head EPA in his administration."

The missed deadline angered other ethanol and farming groups as well. National Farmers Union president Rob Larew said in a statement that the EPA's failure to act "is introducing yet more uncertainty to the biofuels industry – uncertainty that most farmers and biofuels producers can’t afford right now." Larew also accused the Trump administration of inappropriately using small-refinery exemptions to help the petroleum industry at the expense of ethanol producers.

Geoff Cooper, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, said it would probably be better to just let the Biden administration make the decisions, Abbott reports. "We are confident that the new EPA administrator, whoever it may end up being, will stop doing secret favors for oil refiners and ensure the RFS is implemented in a way that is consistent with the law and congressional intent," Cooper said.

Presidential candidate surrogates debate farm policy

"Samuel Clovis Jr., a member of Farmers and Ranchers for Trump, represented President Donald Trump's re-election campaign while Pam Johnson, an Iowa farmer and former president of the National Corn Growers Association, represented Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign on Tuesday in a Farm Foundation discussion of the two candidates' agricultural platforms," Jerry Hagstrom reports for DTN/The Progressive Farmer. "In a civil discussion, Clovis and Johnson agreed on many issues, particularly the importance of conservation and agricultural research, but disagreed on Trump's records on trade and support for ethanol." Read more here.

Trump administration courts ethanol sector with help for E15 fuel and denial of old oil-refinery waivers still pending

The Trump administration courted the ethanol sector this week with a pair of announcements.

Over the weekend, President Trump tweeted "that he’ll remove federal roadblocks to the sale of 15 percent ethanol gasoline in standard fuel pumps that currently facilitate the 10 percent blend," Ryan McCrimmon reports for Politico's Weekly Agriculture. "As far the administration is concerned, just about any filling station can now sell gas with the higher blend of ethanol without having to replace its entire underground infrastructure, a major obstacle to increased E15 sales."

On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it will deny all pending gap-year small-refinery exemptions to the Renewable Fuel Standard for 2011-2018. "The EPA has yet to decide the fate of 31 pending waiver requests for 2019 and 2020, but the announcement ends what has been an agonizing period for the ethanol and agriculture industries. The ethanol industry stood to lose billions of gallons of fuel demand had the waivers been granted," Todd Neeley reports for DTN/The Progressive Farmer.

The moves could help Trump's chances with corn growers and biofuel producers frustrated by his ethanol policies, McCrimmon reports.

Biden virtual roundtable with farmers and ranchers slams Trump administration on ethanol, trade deals and more

Joe Biden's presidential campaign signaled a continued resolve to woo rural voters last week, with a virtual roundtable involving farmers, lawmakers and farm-union leaders.

"Rural America, and farmers in particular, voted overwhelmingly for President Trump in 2016 but have suffered rather than benefited from it, said speakers," Chuck Abbott reports for the Food & Environmental Reporting Network. They "criticized Trump for using agriculture as a pawn in the Sino-U.S. trade war and labeled him weak on ethanol."

Trump remains popular among farmers even though many have fared poorly during his administration, Abbott reports. Pennsylvania farmer Rick Telesz said during the roundtable that neighbors would tell him that the past two or three years have been the toughest they can remember, but "the next sentence, they're saying, 'I'm voting for Trump.'"

Biden is unlikely to win the overall rural vote, but narrowing the Republican margin in battleground states could make all the difference, Abbott reports.

In addition to the trade war and the clash between oil and ethanol interests, speakers discussed the misfortunes of the dairy industry, African swine fever, and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on agriculture, Matthew Weaver reports for the Capital Press in Salem, Ore.

"Darin Von Ruden, president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, said his state has lost two dairy farms per day — 25 percent of all of his state's dairy farms — during Trump's presidency," Weaver reports. "The rate of loss is similar across the country, he said." Von Ruden also said dairy farmers such as himself do not believe they benefited from the trade war with China or the new trade deal with Mexico and Canada.

Aug. survey of rural bankers shows slight improvements, but sixth straight month of recession-level readings

Creighton University chart compares current month to month and year ago; click here to download it and chart below.

The rural Midwestern economy improved slightly over the past month, but is still below pre-pandemic levels, according to the August edition of Creighton University's Rural Mainstreet Index. The index is a survey of bankers in about 200 rural communities with an average population of 1,300 in 10 states where agriculture and energy are critical to the economy: Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

"The overall index for August increased slightly to 44.7 from July’s 44.1, but still well below growth neutral, though it was up from July’s 44.1 and April’s record low 12.1. The index ranges between 0 and 100 with a reading of 50.0 representing growth neutral," Creighton economist Ernie Goss reports. "Farm commodity prices are down by 10.4 percent over the last 12 months. As a result, and despite the initiation of $32 billion in USDA farm support payments in 2020, only 8% of bankers reported their area economy had improved compared to July, while 18.4% said economic conditions had worsened."

Other things of note from the report:

• August's index marks the sixth straight month with a reading indicating a recession.
• The farmland price index inched above growth-neutral for only the second time in the last 81 months.
• Some areas, such as western South Dakota, saw an economic boost from tourism and recreation because they didn't shut down businesses during the pandemic.
• Nearly 46% of bankers surveyed who have ethanol plants nearby reported temporary shutdowns. The other 54% reported slow expansion of ethanol production.

Biden aims at rural voters during Democratic convention

"The Biden campaign wants to undercut President Donald Trump’s sweeping victory across rural America in 2016 by making its case that the White House has failed voters in small communities," Liz Crampton reports for Politico. "No one expects former Vice President Joe Biden to win the rural vote outright. But his strategists and supporters are working to peel away voters by hammering on Trump’s economic agenda and haphazard response to the pandemic."

The Democratic party signaled its attention to rural voters during this week's Democratic National Convention. On Monday, speakers underlined the importance of the U.S. Postal Service, which rural residents rely on disproportionately. Later, the Biden camp hosted a virtual symposium to discuss issues that affect rural voters. And on Tuesday, members of the DNC's Rural Council held the floor during the daytime, Crampton reports.

"Winning over just a slice of the rural vote could make a difference in battleground states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania," Crampton reports. "Many sectors of the rural economy under Trump have been reeling as a result of his trade and ethanol policies since 2017, while the coronavirus has disproportionately affected rural areas, stressing an already fraying health care infrastructure with few ICU beds."

Senate Republicans' relief bill has no special help for ethanol, unlike House bill; could have political repercussions

The petroleum and ethanol industries, long at odds with each other, are both hurting from decreased energy demand during the pandemic, but ethanol producers—and some rural voters in ethanol states—may be feeling left out in the cold by the Trump administration and Senate Republicans.

The Environmental Protection Agency "has surpassed the deadline by one month to release proposed 2021 renewable volume obligations in the Renewable Fuel Standard, an important market driver for biofuels," Todd Neeley reports for DTN/The Progressive Farmer. "And while congressional leaders continue to hammer out details on a new round of covid-19 stimulus that may include relief for ethanol producers this time, President Donald Trump was in west Texas on Wednesday touting the oil industry on a fundraising stop."

Though Senate Republicans' $1 trillion pandemic relief bill has $20.5 billion in broad funding to the Department of Agriculture, none is specifically earmarked for the ethanol industry. In contrast, the House relief bill authorizes $33 billion in agricultural spending, and "would establish the Renewable Fuel Reimbursement Program," Neeley reports. "It would provide a 45-cent per-gallon payment for feedstock purchases made by biofuels producers from Jan. 1, 2020, through May 1, 2020."

Former Iowa lieutenant governor Patty Judge, a Democrat, wrote for The Gazette in Cedar Rapids that the biofuel industry's swoon and Trump's trade war are why Trump is winning rural voters by only 9 points, when Trump carried that voting bloc by nearly 30 points in 2016. In Iowa, a Des Moines Register poll taken June 7-10 showed Trump leading Joe Biden by 1 point.

Senate Republicans' relief bill includes more help for agriculture and rural areas

"A $1 trillion coronavirus relief package that Senate Republicans are trying to finalize would authorize compensation to livestock and poultry producers and also aid ethanol plants as well as additional direct payments to farmers, a key senator said Thursday," Philip Brasher reports for Agri-Pulse.

"The Senate package is expected to include $20 billion in direct appropriations for farmers and ranchers, on top of the $14 billion in new borrowing authority through the Commodity Credit Corporation that the Agriculture Department could tap to keep sending stimulus checks to producers," Ryan McCrimmon reports for Politico's Weekly Agriculture.

The bill includes "a five-year telehealth extension for Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics," Inside Health Policy reports.

Two-thirds of the bill's funding for elementary and secondary education "would be reserved for schools that plan to physically reopen and provide some kind of in-person instruction," reflecting a priority of President Trump, Education Week reports.

The "proposal will sit around $1 trillion and include $105 billion for schools, a second round of direct payments to individuals and families, $16 billion in new money for testing, a second, more targeted round of forgivable small business loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, a myriad of tax incentives for employers to rehire, retain and retrofit their offices for employees," Phil Mattingly reports for CNN. "It will also include Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's redline: liability protections for businesses, schools, hospitals and non-profits."

Trump administration officials are pushing a series of narrower issue-by-issue bills in case the larger bill doesn't pass, Marianne Levine and Nolan McCaskill report for Politico.

Biden unveils $2 trillion climate plan, links it to economy

Former vice president Joe Biden unveiled Tuesday an expanded—and more expensive—version of his plan to address climate change and stimulate the U.S. economy. The plan proposes spending $2 trillion over four years, "calling for front-line, fence-line and environmentally vulnerable communities to get 40% of the benefits from his climate plan," Adam Aton reports for Energy & Environment News.

Last week a task force formed by Biden and more liberal primary rival Bernie Sanders recommended Biden set goals of eliminating carbon pollution from power plants by 2035, making all new buildings have net zero emissions by 2030, fund energy-saving upgrades to existing structures, install 500 million solar panels and manufacture 60,000 wind turbines.

Biden did not necessarily adopt all the task force's proposals, but they were taken into consideration, CNN reports. Biden did adopt its recommendation to make power plants carbon-neutral by 2035, Aton reports, as well as its recommendations on installing more solar panels, manufacturing more wind turbines, and making existing structures more energy-efficient.

Biden's plan, which carries a higher price tag than any of his other policy proposals, is a "leftward pivot" possibly meant to appease more liberal Democrats, but it also "reflects how the falling cost of renewable energy has made it easier to pitch climate policy as economic stimulus," Aton reports. When Biden announced the plan yesterday, he emphasized that plans like retrofitting buildings with LED lighting would mean jobs for electricians and union workers.

"Republicans responded by accusing Biden of trying to destroy millions of oil and gas jobs," Aton reports, but such arguments may be less powerful these days because falling clean-energy costs have made it easier to make a case for growing the economy with renewable-energy jobs. Renewable energy is a major source of jobs in the rural Midwest (a presidential battleground), far more than oil, gas or coal jobs, according to a January report.