OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Farmers in Nebraska and Iowa say they're hurting as corn prices remain low, and lawmakers are frustrated that a recent funding bill didn't include a provision that could have helped create new markets for corn products.
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The congressional delegations in Iowa and Nebraska want to see year-round sales of E15 fuel, which contains up to 15% ethanol. Corn growers want it because they say it could create an additional domestic market for corn.
"E15 is the most important thing we can do for our farmers right now," Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon said.
Bacon said year-round E15 wasn't included in the bill because many of his colleagues don't understand it. However, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley isn't giving up on the effort.
"I'm going to continue working with leader Thune and other members of Congress from Iowa and the Midwest to make this happen," he said.
The push to increase the domestic market for corn comes as farmers face economic pressures from multiple directions.
"Right now we have very little exports with corn and that drives the prices down and we need a market for our corn and if we don't do that we're going to lose a lot of family farms," Bacon said.
According to a report from the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute: "Erratic tariff policies squeeze farmers from both sides." Tariffs on inputs such as fertilizer increase farmers' expenses, while retaliatory tariffs reduce the grain American farmers can sell abroad.
For now, year-round E15 will have to wait.
"It's a shame that this isn't happening today," Grassley said.
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