The U.S. poultry industry has joined red meat producers and processors in an effort to block legislation by midwestern senators that would renew tax credits and protective tariffs for ethanol, which are due to expire at the end of the year.
The National Turkey Federation, National Chicken Council, National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the American Meat Institute earlier began a campaign to convince members of the House Ways and Means Committee to allow the 30-year-old tax credits and protective tariff to lapse as scheduled.
Their plea followed a move last week by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) to ask Congress to extend tax credits given to ethanol blenders, small ethanol producers and cellulosic ethanol plants and an import tariff on foreign ethanol. They were supported by other Republicans and Democrats from neighboring states with ethanol plants.
A decrease of more than 6 percent in turkeys raised since 2007 levels and a nearly 9 percent reduction from 2008 was necessary to adjust to increased feed costs, NTF said. "More importantly, the turkey industry eliminated nearly 3 000 jobs vital to rural America in 2008 and 2009 alone," it added.
Cumulative additional cost to the broiler industry has reached $15 billion since corn prices began to increase in fall of 2006, the letter said. "This additional cost does not include the higher cost of other feed ingredients, such as soybean meal, whose prices tend to move in tandem with corn. Accordingly, broiler companies have suffered reduced profitability.
"However, 30 years of support has created a mature corn ethanol industry that now needs to compete fairly in the marketplace and allow for the next generation of renewable fuels to grow," the letter concluded.
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