National Chicken Council Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Bill Roenigk told the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power that the Renewable Fuel Standard, at least for conventional biofuels, is broken beyond repair, and that it is imperative at this time for Congress to take a critical look at the Renewable Fuel Standard. Roenigk appeared before the subcommittee on July 24.
Roenigk's testimony follows The National Chicken Council's white paper comments released in April to the Energy and Commerce Committee that argued the federal government's mandate for corn-based ethanol has been the single, most important, major driver impacting the corn market since the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was implemented.
"Since 2007, all chicken producers, at times, have struggled financially," Roenigk testified. "Some have struggled longer and more severely than others. The business disruptions directly impact the over 25,000 family farmers who grow the chickens, and the more than 300,000 employees directly working for the chicken companies. Since October 2006 through this month, July 2013, poultry and egg producers have had to bear the burden of higher feed costs totaling over $50 billion."
Roenigk testified on the third of three panels the committee heard as part of their two-day hearing entitled, "Overview of the Renewable Fuel Standard: Stakeholder Perspectives." Other panelists included: Pam Johnson, president of the National Corn Growers Association; Ed Anderson, CEO of Wen-Gap LLC on behalf of the National Council of Chain Restaurants; Chris Hurt, professor of agriculture economics at Perdue University; and Scott Faber, vice president of Government Affairs for the Environmental Working Group.
