The Video Conference hosted by the group vocus on Rural America. Thank you for joining us today. Tos is a different approach a press event for me and i think for most everybody that is going to participate this morning. Out,e eager to try this ,nd hope if we make a mistake muting you again, please forgive us. I will introduce the speakers as we go and we will hold the questions until the end. Our communication director is running the news button and the chat sidebar on zoom, so if you have any questions, please just namea note there with your and she will call on you. You are final call for questions at the end. As you know, our country and the world are grappling with this ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and i sincerely hope that you and your loved ones are safe and , and thatgetting by you are practicing social distancing and taking necessary precautions. We do appreciate you making time for us today to do this event. I am in Monroe County and the southern part of the state and i ed here alland work of my life. I cofounded focus on rural 2017 towith a friend in ensure that communities like ours continue to have a voice solve help policymakers rural economic issues. 2008, as Lieutenant Governor, i led the Emergency Task force after the massive flooding at the eastern part of the state and worked alongside Police Officers and state troopers, the national guard, fema, as they rescued and sheltered families. This was to aid those who are affected by the storm, support the Health Workers and get employees, employers like universities and utility companies, ethanol plants, Small Businesses back to work as quickly as possible. We really worked aggressively to help as many businesses as we could, and if they were not operating within a few weeks, then they thought the probability to ever open again was probably gone. I know this pandemic is different. It has hit the country very hard. However, having lived in having lived and worked in Rural America my entire life, both for disasters and working after their crisis, and ithe challenges know that no matter what we do, social distancing will have economic consequences. We can already see them. It is critical that are nations leaders Work Together to contain this virus into prevent disasters longterm. The Health Reality is that we need to avoid an outbreak and Rural Communities. We have already seen the impact of limited resources on the metropolitan hospitals across the country. Our rural towns and counties face a different system in terms of care. Four years rural hospitals across the nation have been closing. 2005, so it isce the remaining hospitals functions, we are at a physician shortage here, with a number of cases per 100,000 people have outpaced the state of new york. They do not have a hospital or a single resident physician. Our rural hospitals and clinics are requesting that shark custom to sending emergencies elsewhere , and when the nearby hospitals in addition our economy is in a covid19, prior to theres been worker to educate about the problems here. Andonable Housing Stock lack of the internet, right now we are managing to manage covid19, and must manage it and await to protect communities from the fallout which unfortunately is going to be very difficult for them to recover. Outbreak, farm income was down by half compared , tradethousand 13 cost iowa in 2018 had 2 billion in gross state product. In 2019 arm finis continue to erode as 44 of growers struggled to cover costs. Waivers wereery going to companies as big as exxon allowing them to differ to 4 billion galya galleons of fuel into the market. Jobs. E lost in 2019 john deere laid off many , and jobs at john deere and bio plants provide Rural Americans with good paying jobs which benefit and ensure those here in our communities. Today the jobs are at real risk. Did mr. Risch and has continuously promised to do right by our producers but time and time again they meet with executives to determine the next handout. Yesterday i was State University eased information day i read that the administration was considering paying oil drillers to leave oil in the ground. We are facing tough times. We must do our best to keep americans healthy and take care of our medical providers and to address the economy. We cannot structure aid packages so that only the big survive. Alongmom and pop shops with town squares and the job agricultureoss continue to take the hit. This is not sustainable, and it will kill our small towns. Tothe president is going invite Oil Executives to a meeting at the white house, i believe he should do the same for the Biofuel Industry, the same thing for medical leaders across the country, the Service Industry and labor. Veryone must be representative we cannot provide bailouts for cruise ships and Oil Companies and expect that our rural economic engine will get back in order. Here to help us to talk about Rural America and about our farmers is rob larue, the president of the National Farmers union. After growing up on a dairy farm in west virginia, rob has worked on Agricultural Policy for more than 20 years overseeing the the and 2014 farm bill with Agriculture Committee and. Orking with congress thank you for joining us. I will turn it over to you. Is rob live . R ok. Rob ok. I appreciate the introduction, and obviously this conversation today about the extraordinary needs that are facing our family farms and Rural Communities at this time. Normally a very optimistic time, a hopeful time for farmers as they prepare the fuel the field to get crops out there, but this is no ordinary spring as we all know. This is i will just repeat, that coming on the heels of some really tough past years, farmers are financially stretched to the brink across all commodities and livestock, and the recent disruptions in market changes are just sending those operations in more dire straits at this time. That said, farmers continue to produce food in abundance and although there has been some reports out there of concerns about grocery shelves and so forth, the fact is the supplies are strong, the food is available, products continue to be produced, and the disruptions in the supply chain should be worked out in short order. We know there are challenges with connecting that surplus of food to those in most need, they hunger community, but we expect those situations to be remedied. Theseaid, what disruptions have shown us is that the markets still have room to go down. For Dairy Farmers, we are ready losing in states like wisconsin, they have very recently seen a 30 drop in what were already and quite frankly that were not sustainable. The pressure is much stronger. That is also true in our livestock for independent ranchers. They also have seen huge, 20 five30 drop in the value of livestock and we also unfortunately are seeing price concerns there, where the market signals are not playing out we have huge consolidation in that industry. We are urging that the administration and the Justice Department continue to do Everything Possible to make sure these markets are working well, that people are not price gouging consumers at this point need a strong supply of products. Are also need ones that priced appropriately. Conversely, farmers need to be sure that they also are getting a fair price on the marketplace. This does not always mean that it is the case. Has been exacerbated by the closures and slowdowns across the processing, not only in the highprofile cases in the livestock industry. Some plants in iowa and also cases up in sioux falls at the closure there because of the workers struggling. Example,re seeing an while the food supply is strong, there is also a huge consolidation in the processing industry here. As we look at a response from the administration, we need to make sure, as was mentioned before, that the responses targeted and given to those communities and those farmers who are doing the work out there, making sure they remain strong. This is what is going to keep the Rural Community strong. Judge Lieutenant Governor referenced, health care is a formers concern. There are big parts of these communities, and it is what keeps them strong and we knew going into this that Rural Health Care systems were already struggling. I have half the access to hospitals and clinics as their suburban and urban counterparts and 1 10 of the access to specialists. Thathighlights the need need to get out there. In addition, as we think about these communities, and that only the impact on the farms, we know that as Small Businesses struggle and as ethanol plants close, those are good paying jobs. In a lot of cases where farmers who are struggling with low are helpinge jobs to keep the family going. This is affecting the communities there and there is a lot of infrastructure that is being highlighted that needs to be hit as we look at what the Current Administration is going to be doing. It needs to be swift, targeted, and it needs to be done looking towards the longterm viability of these communities and for family farmers. Ande look at Food Security the consolidation that we have there, we need as many farms as possible, more diversity in the processing end to make sure the supply and security remain strong not only for those Rural Communities but obviously for the country. We are working very closely with the administration to make sure those messages are getting out there. The impact of losing biofuels , as wellcessing jobs as the very direct and real impact on family farmers who are coming off several years downturn, this is just putting tremendous pressure. We know we are going to ultimately lose some farms. This administration has a choice in whether or not actions will accelerate the consolidation or hopefully slow it down. With that, i will turn it over. Also, you will have the opportunity to answer some questions that we will have. Our nextll introduce guest, the trade association represents many ethanol supporters around the country working to give consent consumers clean and affordable fuel. , the platform is yours. Be unmutedem to here. Governor, i think you did a fantastic job. Before i get into the specifics of how the ethanol industry has been impacted. I want to give you a sense of the scope of the impact of the industry on our communities. The plants are kind of the beating heart of the world economy. Not only do they provide skills and compensated jobs for Rural Communities, they provide markets for farmers, sanitizer for hospitals, feed for livestock operators, clean fuel co2 for meatpackers and water treatment. So they reach far and wide. If you look at what the industry is expensing right now, it is unprecedented like so much of what we are experiencing, unlike anything we have experienced before. Cameu said, our industry into covid19 already under significant economic duress. 2019 was one of the toughest years in recent memory for ethanol producers because they faced historic floods at hostile regulators. The influx of exemptions coming out of the epa meant that we were really in pretty dire straits for we faced the downturn of covid19. Compounded with the fact that down, we are is not surprised. We are not driving. The impact of that is the demand is down and if you look at the numbers, they are pretty staggering. These are the numbers from last numbers. Government but they give you a pretty good indicator. Production down 43 . And eight. 7are at billion gallon production at half of the industry is offline right now. Ethanol stocks are at record highs. We have more than one billion stockede gallons right now. Many plants have shutmany plant. About 30 have been very public in saying weve had to shut down, we had to furlough, but that number is a fraction of the number of plants that have been impacted over a dozen states, including minnesota, michigan, wisconsin, iowa, ohio, and so forth. If you look at the impact of these amount of ethanol plants offline, you analyze that, thats about 2. 5 billion bushels of corn demand that is not going to be ground. Ethanol is the most important market to maintain steady grain prices. Those plants that are operating right now are operating at a civic and loss. The typical plant right now is losing about 0. 37 per gallon. Perhaps they are operating to maintain their contracts, perhaps because they are trying to do what they can to maintain their workforce. Some are doing this because they want to be able to provide ethanol to the Hand Sanitizer market. We are very glad that we are able to participate in that Public Health response. But it is a pretty dire situation for the industry, and what we need is strong government leadership in government support. We need usda to be there with us, making sure you can support this critical sector so that we can get through the worst of the crisis and then be in a position to potentially recover and return to our momentum. So we need immediate assistance, we need lifting of the regulatory burdens that prohibit the momentum and growth behind higher blends of ethanol, and we need some regulatory certainty. This is a prickle situation. A critical situation. Weve got to support vital producers in iowa and across the country. We are in a really dangerous place right now. The president s meeting personally with Oil Executives to negotiate their buyout bailout. If we are going to provide gas, weid to oil and must do the same thing for ethanol. This is not rocket science. Ofneed to address the needs every industry impacted by this pandemic and support all of our communities. , feel very strongly about this and if these meetings are taking place, then they forgot to send me my invitation. But i been but i do not believe that to be true, and it is critical that the Biofuels Industry be at the table and that they are included in whatever assistance is being offered other industries across our country. Last but not least, i am going to introduce to you my good island andlow fellow iowan, the secretary of agriculture. He served as secretary of agriculture for all of the years of the obama administration, and previously served as i was isaiah was as iowas governor. Thank you for everyone on the call today. Certainly appreciate robs and emilys contribution. Rate o make and rear and reiterate some of the points previously made. Prior to the virus, we were dealing with a food and agriculture industry prickly important to the future of the united states. 20 of the entire workforce was connected in some way. 20 of our economy was connected to that industry of food and agriculture. We certainly have seen the importance of that industry in the virus situation. The folks producing our food, processing or food, retailing the food, transporting it, are on the front lines of maintaining the health and where phil health and welfare of our families. First, id like to express appreciation for those folks on the front lines who continue to do the good work of maintaining the supply of food that rob talked about, and hes absolutely right. We just have to make sure the supply gets connected to the demand. Emilys point about the ethanol Industry Needs to be underscored. This is an industry that, prior to 2019, was providing stable markets for farmers and their products, and it was also providing hundreds of thousands of jobs in Rural Communities across the united states, good paying jobs that also provided good benefits. In many cases, these workers at ethanol facilities had the ability to obtain Health Insurance, which allowed their families the security of having Health Insurance, and were able oftentimes to be part of families that, because they had Health Insurance and a decent job, they were able to maintain their farming operation, even if it was a small one. In addition to the jobs in the stable markets, this is an industry that obviously provided consumers choice, and reduced the cost to all of us in terms of transportation fuels. So there was an important industry. But in 2019, we saw first and foremost the impact of the trade war with china. No longer as easily exported to china because of tariffs. That was followed by the epa making decisions concerning waivers over the course of the as emilyral years, and indicated, that has taken billions of gallons of production out of the renewable fuel standard. A dispute between saudi arabia and russia which dropped oil prices, which created further pressure on the ethanol industry. So we entered this virus in a difficult circumstance, seeking help and assistance, now what we have is a circumstance which, because of the virus, we have a shut down virtually of all of the food Service Industry in the united states, which obviously has impacted and disrupted the supply chain, which is impacting and affecting all workers, all producers. Crop producers, dairy producers. Commodities of all kinds are being impacted and affected. So this is a difficult circumstance and situation, that the ethanol industry and american agriculture finds itself in. Important, io be think, for the administration and for usda to be very forthright about the assistance it can provide, and very creative. As ive said in a number of interviews, it is time for the usda to minimize the barriers to getting Food Supplies out to people in need and time for them to maximize creativity in terms of the assistance and help it can provide. Let me give you a couple of examples. Specific to ethanol. It is obviously important for the federal government to continue its purchasing power, and theres no reason why Renewable Fuels cant be a focus of the purchasing power of the federal government. There are a tremendous number of vehicles utilized in the federal Government Service to the people , even in this virus circumstance, and theres no reason why many of those cant and shouldnt be using biofuels. The hope is that we would see increased purchasing from the federal government. Secondly, as china institutes its phase one trade armistice of additional purchases, the hope would be that that would include a resumption of the purchase of these. Of finally, looking for creative ways to provide assistance and help to the ethanol industry that might be unique, might be different, might be something that may not have been thought of, but i want to put it on the table because i think it is important for the administering to be as calm brains of as possible in the help they can provide. We were faced with a circumstance when i was secretary in the cotton industry where we had restrictions in terms of being able to provide direct assistance to the cotton industry. So we went back and took a look at the flex ability that the Commodity Corporation has, and determined that we could essentially create a program that would provide help to cotton gin operations, that would essentially enable the Cotton Grower not to have to expand the process to the point where it would be marketable. We provided 700 million assistance through this program. With a little but of creativity, the administration, with the Additional Resources virtue of congressional action, to take a portion of that resource and create a Similar Program for thenol, figuring out ways processing and cost of producing the facility doesnt have to absorb that loss that they are currently absorbing, until such time as the market is stabilized and we get back to whatever the new normal is going to be. The point of this is that this is an unprecedented circumstance. It finds Industries Like ethanol and the dairy industry in particular, if you look at the depression of prices in both of those industries, youre going to find that they are certainly more depressed in terms of prices than many of the other commodities, and we are also facing difficult times before the virus. In the dairy industry, about five years of difficult circumstance. When you look at the impact on dairy, you look at core production and the disruption that is occurring as a result of plants closing, you look at the significant challenge the ethanol industry faces, it is not hard to understand why iowa state came up with a study, but i suspect that would also be true of minnesota, wisconsin, pretty much the rustbelt areas of this country, and i think it is going to be important and necessary for folks to understand that now is the time to figure out creative ways not of how not to do something, but how to use the tools and Resources Available to get assistance to every aspect of agriculture. It is a bit concerning that the oil industry does have the opportunity to meet with the president and talk about the challenges they have. It seems like it would be fair for the renewable fuel industry to have a similar opportunity, and we hope that the administration with the assistance of the usda would have that opportunity at some point in the future. In the meantime, there are tools and resources, and now is the time to see them creatively used to bring those folks who are not working today back on the job at these production facilities, to create Additional Market opportunities for producers, and stabilize prices for them so that we can have a bit healthier economy in the midwest. Secretary. U, with that, i would like to open up the session for some questions. Our facilitator katie is on the line, i hope. And calling to unmute on you to ask your question. So far entered your name and your outlet, please do that now, or wait until the end of the questions that have already been logged. I will turn this over to katie. Katie, i hope you can make all of the magic work. Thanks, patty. Murphyunmute it erin with wave news. If you could let us know who that is going for, or if it is going to everyone. Can you hear me . Perfect. This is maybe for secretary bill sack secretary vilsack. , and a few folks touched on this, but i would be curious to hear more on the challenges you are hearing from farmers and particularly the dairy and egg laying sectors in about problems across the country in those particular sectors. I am wanting to hear more about those here in iowa. In the dairy industry, it is an industry that is very much dependent on food service. It is dependent on schools being open and providing school meals for breakfast and lunch to kids and making sure that dairy as served to 30meal million American Children every single day. When you shut the schools down, when you shut the restaurants down and Food Service Operations essentially are disrupting perhaps as much as 50 of the market that would normally exist for dairy. So then the question is, people are still going to buy food and retail. Thats true, but oftentimes early in this process, the Grocery Stores were concerned about whether or not there would be adequate supply, so they put limitations on what people could buy. That reinforced the notion that there was a potential food shortage, which encourages a sense of panic. People then do panic buying. They store up, if you will. It creates this disruption. First and foremost, it is important that farmers understand the need and appreciate that there is adequate supply of Dairy Products available. It is a matter of getting them to the people who need them. At a time when retail was finally figuring this out was about the time we saw over 20 million americans lose their fashion, dramatic which places a grave stress on food banks and food pantries. The challenge that food banks and food pantries face is that they dont have the infrastructure to be able to take the Dairy Products that are available because they are perishable. They dont have the refrigeration capacity or storage capacity. So part of what probably needs to happen now and in the future is we need to look at ways in which we create a more resilient backup system through our food banks and pantries, and through creative ways to encourage youngsters to continue to get those meals so that they continue to have access to those Dairy Products. The result of all of this is that dairy, or some Dairy Farmers, they dont have a home for the milk they are producing, and it is not as if you can talk to the cow and say theres a virus here, it is time to stop producing. Thats why the dairy industry has requested a number of things. One, commodity purchases, and making sure that is in quickly. To, allowing farmers participate in the Margin Coverage Program that would provide some degree of income, notwithstanding the fact that they arent making much money right now. It gives them a bit of insurance. Many of them didnt sign up at the beginning of the year because they thought prices were going to be better, and certainly the indication was they were going to be better before this virus. So export have been impacted and affected. And i think another opportunity would be to figure out ways in which farmers could potentially for not producing as much, so instead of dumping milk, you basically have a program for a period of time where farmers figure out ways to balance supply and demand, and we give the food banks and others the time to get the infrastructure in place to be able to store and get back to normal. , theres obviously a lot of demands, but i think the Additional Resources with ccc and the Additional Resources that congress appropriated, and there may well be a second, third, fourth Stimulus Program looking for ways in which we can to continue to help Industries Like ethanol and dairy, so that we maintain the jobs and the farmers on the farm. That should be critically important, and at the same time, andtain the Food Production Food Processing capacity this country has, which is a National Security advantage we have over so many other countries that dont have the capacity to feed themselves. On and echo aadd couple of things, yes, supply and demand we have to take care of, but i would also stress that for many of these Dairy Farmers, they are currently operating at a huge loss. Every day they are producing milk, it is costing them more in feed and all of their other supplies and inputs. To go inking them. Veryday, producing it is important that we restore these supply chains as quickly as possible and make the adaptations in order to get those products to those most in need, and ultimately that we are balancing supply and demand. This is one area in particular, because so many Dairy Farmers right now are highly leveraged, hanging on barely because of the preceding years of financial troubles, but this is one area where, if not done correctly and in the correct way, could certainly cause a pretty dramatic shift for Dairy Farmers out there right now. To robs point, that is why it is important for the usda to perhaps give consideration to reopening the Margin Coverage Program because that does provide some assistance, particularly too small and midsized operators who are losing money. It basically gives them a little cash infusion to keep them on the farm. Great. And we have another question from graham at the quad state times. You should be on muted you should be unmuted. We cant hear you. Your device may also be on mute, so you may want to unmute yourself, if you can hear us. Ok. I am going to come back to graham in a minute, but right now we will go to jackie with feedstuff. Jackie, you are off mute now. Can you hear me now . Yeah. Excellent. How does this change the way that agriculture provides food to consumers . Are there changes that we need to make throughout the supply chain to be able to manage this Going Forward . Will people have to do anything differently as we look beyond into the future . Are there things we learned about the supply chain and fixes that we need to make . Well, i will take a stab at that to begin with. To reiterate the need for the storage and the infrastructure so that when the institutions that would normally be purchasing and using food that farmers are producing and that the facilities are processing, that we can shift more easily and more quickly from foodservice to food banks, and the reality is we are having a hard time shifting. Think about this, youve got a perishable product milk. You dont have a food bank that has storage capacity, but you have tremendous demand for families for milk. It is to the point where we even suggested that, for some food banks that have processing and bodily capacity, maybe we pull the refridgerated truck up to the back and essentially distribute milk from the truck itself using the truck as the refrigeration capacity. I think part of what we need to look at as a country is making our system more resilient to these disruptions by making sure we can transition from one kind of food to another more quickly and more easily. I think that is a fair point. I would add that in a couple of incrediblyers are innovative entrepreneurs in so many ways, and are looking for those ways to adapt here. Are also trying to adapt to finding new ways to connect, if we are talking about direct marketing, those producing fruits and vegetables, overnight, those restaurants were shut down, or in markets that, for the time nonessential,emed that they quickly had to either move online if they hadnt already or find other ways to do that. I think he will continue to see that sort of innovation and as wetion over time explore Lessons Learned in the food chain right now, so we are beginning to cede some of those changes taking place. I will add one more point to this. We also have to take a look at ways in which we can create new revenue opportunities, and i think that environmental services, the whole issue with climate and Greenhouse Gas emissions and things of that nature, i think create the opportunity for american agriculture to diversify ways in which farmers can be benefited and profited from the use of their land for societal benefits. That is another strategy, not necessarily directly related to food, but related to farm income. Great. Graham at the quad state times is having microphone issues, so i am just going to pose this to the group. His general question is how is the covid19 pandemic affecting immigrant and undocumented workers in rural iowa communities . Anyone on the panel who feels comfortable answering that. I can start that off. It isrse, we know that affecting immigrant communities, our agricultural workers. Particularly, i referenced in my opening remarks the county which is the home of one of our large , that icessing plants believe today is shut down because of the large number of covid19 cases that occurred in that plant. That is very serious for the supply chain, and we were just talking about the supply chain in agriculture from the farmer to the grocery store. Putseyond that, it immigrant populations in a position where they are going to really need some services, not only health care services, but if they cannot go to work and they are without a paycheck, then we have to remember that they do need some assistance. Ofo hope that that is part our program to get this economy. P and running again shoulderd shoulder to for 40 plus hours. It is absolutely a climate that is rife with opportunity to catch something that the guy to your left or right already has. I dont think we have done enough to protect them and to thing about the impact that has on a worker that leaves that planned and goes back to his and, where he has family his children. If we are going to contain the disease, we have to consider the impact we are having on migrants. I think i would just add, first of all, theres been a great deal of discussion, and possibly a need for it on potential liability for Food Processors out there, and the possibility they get covid19. Hope, as we look at the folks who are supplying better on the task force for the president and so forth, i dont see a lot of interest there directly related to the worker interests. Interestfarmers best that their own workers, whether they are h2 a workers or potentially undocumented workers, which we know are out there working in the fields, that their safety, their protection is critically important not only to the viability of the farms, but just for the sake of Public Health and humanitarian actions here. When you get into the processing facilities, it is also the farmers best interest that workers are protected, that they have access to care. If we are talking about undocumented here, than there is a population which is going to be nervous about seeking resources, so it is critically important that we are reaching out, making sure theres access to care, access to Health Care Resources as much as possible here because, in the interest of the food chain and the , it is then effort reasons that echo the importance protecting workers. Thanks, rob. Our next question is i appreciate you all having the call. Saw last week bipartisan support from 15 senators sent a letter to they veryperdue and much asked that they support the biofuel sector as they look at options. Create creativity. Weve had conversations with industryurselves as an and making sure they understand what we are going through and what we are communicating to them is the conversation we are having read the numbers are staggering and the impact and spillover it has on rule communities. Is receivingusda more requests for support and having more conversations than they believe they have Funds Available i think regardless of what happens in this initial phase that the secretary plans to announce, conversations will continue on capitol hill to make sure everyone who needs support is in fact supported. Emily said it very well. To echo a couple of the things she said, the conversations are ongoing, not just with usda and what their package might look like. Making a strong case for biofuels and for help there. But, continuing the conversations on capitol hill so everyone understands strongly the need. And hopefully, we will get the response that we want. Fmr. Sec. Vilsack i know this was not directed to me, but i think it is important to add that usda should not limit itself in terms of its creativity and the use of its resources for the aid packages. It also has within its normal budget and number of programs that could potentially be utilized to provide help. It needs to be covering hence of be comprehensive in its approach. Take a look at the budget for your operating budget, your normal budget and figure out ways in which a development of resources can be utilized. Or ways in which community could be used for storage. Or is there the possibility of doing the Equipment Grant Program for schools in which would increase market opportunities. The key here is to be creative. I think it would be helpful as the administration puts together recovery teams, not only do workers need to be well represented, but also farmers need to be well represented. While it is important to have the American Farm bureau is a member of these groups, it would also be important to have the National Farmers union and some of the other, the ethanol industry represented in that particular area rather than what appears to be more focus on large, agro businesses or foodservice cooperations, which are important. But i think it would be nice and helpful that they had a few more farmer groups on that Recovery Committee as well. Great. Thank you, secretary. Our next question is from Chris Clayton. You should be unmuted and able to chat. I think my main question is for emily, but i was trying to see whether you have seen or heard from some of the ethanol plants that are able to use the fda program. The money kind of shut off this morning. Did they find any value in the programs for them . Thank you for the question. I know many plants applied for the resources. I saw that the funds have been exhausted. There is a huge appetite certainly when the cares act came out. We did everything we could add at Growth Energy to facilitate our members ability to understand what is available to them, to expedite their ability to have access. How do i go through the process . How do i get a complete application early on because we knew it would be competitive. I would venture offhand, nearly every plant that could qualify reached out and tried to get the funds. I have not yet heard back from the plants in terms of confirmation that they did receive funds. I will say not every ethanol plant qualifies because there are restrictions. So, part of the conversation too with capitol hill and usda administration is thank you for these opportunities for support. Clearly, we need more of it, but you also need something that everyone is potentially eligible to receive most important late. You guys dressed up so nicely for this. Im unshaved for most of it. For a month. For fsa loans for instance, is there something that could be adjusted that would help a Broader Group of producers just using the program which we have not really heard anybody talk much about . Fmr. Sec. Vilsack i think, chris, said that point, i think this is right, that there is a moratorium on foreclosures. The fsa offices are probably looking at ways in which facilities could potentially refinance their loans. I think there is flexi bility there. They are loans. At this point in time, a dairy producer, a loan is fine, but at some point you have to have profit. The beauty of the Small Business administration loans for ethanol reduction facilities is if they maintain workforce, it would be a forgivable loan. But, again, i think the key for farmers and for the ethanol industry is how can we get direct assistance in a way that basically reduces that . 37 a gallon loss that production facilities are occurring to key keep people working and maybe generate a profit . And how can we help Dairy Farmers and other farmers who are operating at a loss basically have enough resource in a way that they dont necessarily compromise the future for their operation to be able to stay in business . That is why the dairy Margin Coverage Program is important. That is why the commodity purchasing aspects of usda are important because that can either help provide insurance against this, the loss of income, or it provides more market activity which hopefully will stabilize and see price increases. I know that the question on that was directed towards ethanol plants, but you are probably familiar with the fact that while many farms have multiple, particularly for the ppe, the mixed messages coming out of the administration really made it unavailable to the vast majority of eligible farms to even take advantage of it. Usda was very helpful in trying to work with fda and create a series of frequently asked questions, clarify eligibility on the processes. But, we kept having regional ethier fda officials definitively say that farmers were not eligible despite the guidance, despite the efforts for clarity at the highest levels of the agency. So, as a result of that, through all those delays and we are only just this morning hearing a clarification on whether or not a farmer could use a schedule f in the filing. That was apparently clarified but only this morning as the funds are gone. Part of the effort we continue to do is to bring all of that clarity to light so that farms and, quite frankly, anybody in rural areas that may be working through Community Banks that were not right there at the forefront for this pot of money yeah, it seems robs camera has frozen. Im going to go ahead and see if we can move on to another question really quickly. Im not if rob can hear us, just to let you know you are frozen. If your connection needs help, might want to jump on that. The next question i have is from helena at biofuels digest. Helena, you should be unmuted now. I think rob, it looks like he is going to try to jump back on. Go ahead. Thank you so much for having this call. My question is related to, really more for emily on the ethanol plants. I keep hearing about them switching over to Hand Sanitizer. Is that really helping Ethanol Companies right now . Is it kind of a drop in the bucket to just keep them going for now or will that be enough to kind of keep them open for several more months . It is not enough. The response on the Hand Sanitizer first of all, it is very nice to participate in a Public Health response. Youve got ethanol plants getting calls directly from hospitals, from governors, from local businesses just desperate for access to Hand Sanitizer. So, these plants want to be responsive. It is a way for them to participate in the community response. So, are some able to make a few pennies here and there on that . Yes. The volumes we are talking about are really quite minuscule and pale in comparison to the volume of demand we lost on the fuel side. So, it is not really enough to get us through this. It is kind of a nice to do and a nice to participate, but unfortunately it is not enough to get many plants through this. I would say in some instances, plants are just donating their ethanol. That is how much they want to help locally. Great, thanks, emily. I know that aaron murphy had come in with two question so now that i am through my initial list, i am going to find aaron. You are off mute if you want to go ahead and ask your second question. Let me see here. You guys talked about sorry. My unmute button was sticky. Robert and patty touched on this a little bit in an answer to another question, so maybe get a little more talking about these food crossing processing plants in the outbreaks we are seeing their. I am curious to hear what your thoughts are on the challenge and the balancing act between needing places like that twostate open to not supply upset the Food Supply Chain versus making workers safe, which is essentially virtually impossible while this virus is spreading. I am curious to hear more about that bouncing on that those plans in leaders and Health Officials are trying to strike right now. I can take a stab and then maybe the secretary will have something to add. It may not be able to possible to keep those plants open, but if they are operating, the need to take all precautions. We all at this point understand what ppe is. Definitely, food workers and plants should be using masks. They should be using Hand Sanitizer, all those things that now are a part of our common everyday existence. Also, we know that those lines run incredibly fast. If you ever have the opportunity through opportunity to go through one of the plants, it is just amazing how fast those production lines run. The only way that works is by having those the workers in the plants Standing Shoulder to shoulder to keep the product moving. It may also be that they actually need to slow that line down a little bit and let the workers distance more than they are now. It is a big problem. I dont have any smooth answers, but the first thing that we have to do is make sure that we are protecting human life. Rob, do you want to jump in on this . I think you did a very good job of laying out the challenge. As is always the case in a crisis situation, it is going to be necessary for people to be incredibly creative. I think the folks who run and operate those plants need to be thinking is there a way in which they can create product that is necessary for us to continue to have an adequate food supply and at the same time provide safety for workers. If they make the determination that workers cannot be safe, i think they will obviously have to shut the plant down. But if they can figure out a way, whether it is slowing the line down or in some way reconfiguring the way in which a product is being handled so that you have appropriate distancing, physical distancing, then i think it is incumbent upon the industry to be very creative about this. I think it is also incumbent upon the government and us to recognize that these folks are essential and we make sure that they have access to the protective equipment that is necessary for them to do their job safely. And, there is constant surveillance of that workforce to make sure that they are able to identify a problem as quickly as possible to try to minimize its impact on the workforce and its impact on the processing operation. Great, thanks, secretary. We had a little Technical Glitch earlier and i wanted to make sure rob have a chance to finish his thought now that he has rejoined us. To be honest, i lost my train of thought as well. I think it was just referencing the big challenges with the fda, program and making sure it is going to be accessible to farmers. Even as we run out of funds right now, that clarity across the board for eligibility for farms and being able to work through all of the different mechanics of that. What we just learned this morning is one of the glitches that had been in the system is the availability of using schedule f, which fda was giving mixed signals about whether that was something armored could use filing. Rs could use for this has been a big problem for not only farms, but a lot of rural Small Businesses who are perhaps using Community Banks or accessing farm credit to be able to access this program in spite of assurances at the highest levels that the eligibility is there. I think that kind of sums up our point there. Great. Thank you. Im going to do something potentially a little dangerous here. For anyone who could not access the sidebar chat and shoot me your name and outlet, i will unmute this and see if we get any cattle calls. Everyone is unmuted. If theres anyone who couldnt ask a question typing it, please jump in. We will take a couple. Ok then. I will just leave it to our panelists. I think we have done well for the most part. I have to say it is beneficial i want to thank Chris Clayton who commented on our looks. I have on my sweatpants. I will not stand up and show you that. I am very comfy at home. I do, too. I appreciate everybody participating, the panelists that joined us. I think we had a good discussion. I think we have some Serious Problems that are in front of us yet as we hopefully see a beginning of the end of this pandemic. We are going to need some help in order to weather through this and come out strong the other side. One industry that clearly is isng to have to have help dairy, as the dairy industry is impacted. Now the Meat Industry is going to be impacted also. But, biofuels is an iowa industry. It is not going to survive without some assistance and i believe we need to try to do everything we can, all of us to make certain that message is heard and the Biofuel Industry is at the table. And there is an opportunity for them to whether through this by some direct infusion of cash. I would certainly like to call on our congressional delegation and our two senators to help us carry that message forward. I feel certain that they will. If theres anything any of us can do to assist at any time as we whether through this pandemic, please dont hesitate to get a hold of us and focus on Rural America. We appreciate you being here with us. Stay safe, stay healthy and we will try this again sometime real soon. Thank you. In a couple of news briefings with governors, North Carolina governor roy cooper will talk about his states efforts to the ongoing pandemic. We will have live coverage at the top of the hour. Then louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards than update on covid19 cases in his state pray that is live at 3 30 eastern. You can watch online at cspan. Org or list of the free cspan radio app. Trump leads the White House Coronavirus task force rethink this afternoon scheduled to start at 5 00 eastern. You can watch it live here on cspan, online at cspan. Org or listen with the free app. Senatorining us is chuck grassley, chair of the finance committee. Lets begin with the fourth economic aid bill thats being debated by Chuck Schumer on cnn this morning, saying he think the senate will vote. What can you tell us about when that would happen and whats in this legislation. Guest t
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.