The Trump administration is putting Iowa corn farmers in "one hell of a bad situation" for approving "unjustified" refinery waivers tied to ethanol and the ongoing trade war with China, the Iowa Corn Growers Association said Tuesday.
"Agriculture is in one hell of a bad situation right now," Vic Miller, a corn farmer from Fayette County, said in a statement. "The government put us in this situation, and they need to help us get out of it. It's time for President [Donald] Trump to make rural America and the [Renewable Fuel Standard] great again. He made promises to American farmers, and now it's time for him to keep them."
Many American farmers have been fed up with Trump's trade war, which has railed on for more than a year and affected sales of American soybeans, pork, wheat, and other agricultural products.
Corn farmers also say an Environmental Protection Agency's decision to exempt small refineries from a requirement to blend 1.4 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol into gasoline has led to a drop in demand.
Lawmakers are pushing the White House for an ethanol fix.
"The loss of these markets has taken a devastating toll on rural families facing one of the toughest years on record," wrote Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig, also a Republican.