Kansas corn and ethanol leaders told Administrator Scott Pruitt that his efforts to undermine the Renewable Fuel Standard are helping Big Oil while hurting rural America. Administrator Pruitt toured the East Kansas Agri Energy LLC ethanol plant in Garnett, KS and sat down with a roomful of farmers and ethanol supporters Tuesday morning. Growers told Administrator Pruitt they were “mad as hell” about EPA efforts they believe undermine the RFS law. The EPA administrator told the standing-room-only crowd that as regulators, EPA is not supposed to pick winners and losers. “When you look at what EPA is doing, they are most definitely picking winners and losers and right now, ethanol is the loser,” McCauley said. “Our concern was that Administrator Pruitt thought he could come to Kansas, take a few photos with smiling farmers and tell the President that corn farmers are okay with his actions. That would be a gross misinterpretation of what happened here today. I told him that EPA’s attacks on ethanol don’t just hurt plants like EKAE, they hurt farmers, rural communities and American consumers who benefit from ethanol with lower prices and cleaner air.” Under Administrator Pruitt’s guidance, EPA has granted an unprecedented 1.6 billion gallons in waivers, with an estimated economic impact of $5.3 billion in lost markets for ethanol, corn and RINs.

House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson of Minnesota welcomed farm bill text released by the Senate Agriculture Committee. In a statement released prior to Wednesday’s planned markup of the bill, Peterson applauded the Senate for its bipartisan approach and expressed hope that the House would bring a similarly bipartisan bill to conference. Notably, Peterson says the Senate bill “avoids poison pills, stays away from ideology on SNAP,” and should be able to get the votes needed for passage. In his statement, Peterson said the House version of the bill “doesn’t stack up” to the bipartisan proposal in the Senate. He says the House should “match their effort,” and bring forth a bipartisan bill that can get votes from both sides of the aisle in the House. The House farm bill failed last month when no Democrats voted in favor of the bill, along with Republican of the Freedom Caucus blocking passage in favor of finding an immigration resolution first.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt spent part of a trip in Kansas at an ethanol production facility. Pruitt’s trip included a stop at the East Kansas Agri-Energy ethanol plant, along with meeting local agriculture groups. The visit comes a week after the White House stopped a proposal that ethanol groups say would harm the industry, allowing RIN exports, but the proposal also included year-round E15 sales. Pruitt told the group he believes E15 should be available year-round. He said the EPA has the authority and will seek a waiver to allow year-round E15 sales. But, the ethanol industry has seen other perceived attacks, including hardship waivers under the Renewable Fuel Standard account for an estimated demand loss of 1.56 billion gallons, according to the Renewable Fuels Association. Those in the ethanol industry meeting with Pruitt didn’t hold back, expressing their anger towards him and the EPA. Via Twitter, Pruitt said the meeting was “candid and productive.” He is scheduled to visit South Dakota Wednesday.

Mexico is calling for flexibility in the North American Free Trade Agreement talks. A trade official from Mexico said Monday that the only way the countries renegotiating NAFTA will find a solution is through “sufficient flexibility” to narrow differences. Further, the official says Mexican and Canadian negotiators will be “engaging strongly” in July to reach an agreement that is “feasible, workable and benefits the three nations involved, according to Reuters.” Meanwhile, a White House official says the U.S. will seek to replace NAFTA with bilateral deals with Canada and Mexico, if the talks fail. However, Canada and Mexico oppose that idea. Further, President Donald Trump over the weekend and again on Monday targeted Canada’s dairy supply management system, saying Canada’s trade practices are harming U.S. farmers. While much of the NAFTA discussion is focused on automobile trade, dairy is a sticking point for Canada, which is not backing away from its dairy program.

The Senate farm bill released last week includes language establishing a vaccine bank to deal with an outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease, a priority for livestock groups. The House version of the bill includes FMD language, as well. National Pork Producers Council President Jim Heimerl called the language “encouraging,” adding that: “With a vaccine bank, we’ll finally be able to adequately prepare for an FMD outbreak. But, we do need mandatory funding to make it work.” FMD is an infectious viral disease that affects cloven-hooved animals, including cattle, pigs and sheep; it is not a food safety or human health threat. Although the disease was last detected in the United States in 1929, it is endemic in many parts of the world. NPPC says that currently the United States does not have access to enough FMD vaccine to handle more than a small, localized outbreak. Studies show that an FMD outbreak in the United States, it would cost the beef and pork industries a combined $128 billion over ten years.

Uncertainty remains regarding the House version of the farm bill, as the Senate will markup its version in committee this week. House Republicans are busy trying to craft an immigration agreement, which a group of legislators are demanding by blocking a vote on the farm bill, and previously helping to vote down the bill. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway expressed optimism last week that an immigration deal would be reached. Friday, House Republican leaders had drafted an outline of a plan on immigration, but there was no deal. The farm bill will not pass the House without support from the Freedom Caucus or Democrats. Meanwhile, the Senate Agriculture Committee is producing a bipartisan bill that does not include the work requirements included in the House version of the bill under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Senate leadership expressed hope that the Senate could pass its version of the farm bill this month.

The lead Senator pushing for biofuels reform, Ted Cruz, met with Environmental Protection Agency Chief Scott Pruitt, one day after the White House announced a biofuels deal fell through. Pruitt had dinner with the Texas Republican on Wednesday night and declined to comment after it was over. Cruz did say the meeting was about the Renewable Fuels Standard and was planned well before the deal unraveled earlier this week. Cruz feels the deal can still be revived. “The conversations are ongoing,” Cruz says, “and I believe there’s a win-win deal for everyone.” After months of negotiations, the Trump Administration struggled to find a balance between two of his key constituencies, Midwest farmers and the oil industry. Refiners are complaining about the cost of complying with the mandate while farm-state lawmakers say the law is a crucial safety net for their rural constituents. EPA administrator Pruitt is under fire from renewable fuels advocates, who says he’s undermined the president’s pledge to support biofuels. Pruitt is also under fire for questionable decisions and allegations of ethical misconduct. Refiners, who support Pruitt, agree with Cruz that it’s too early to write off a deal.