Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 3/1/18

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Wednesday pledged his "unequivocal" support for the Renewable Fuel Standard before a crowd of thousands of corn growers, other row-crop farmers and agribusiness leaders. His forceful speech was aimed at setting the record straight on his role in the White House's ongoing attempts to broker a compromise in a dispute involving the biofuels industry and oil refiners - and the Republican senators who represent their interests in Washington - reports Pro Ag's Catherine Boudreau.

"Hear me clearly, all of you. I will not, I have not and will not support any policies in this country that diminish the demand [for biofuels], undermine the RFS and are harmful to our agricultural producers," Perdue said at the Commodity Classic convention and trade show in Anaheim, Calif.

Perdue's stance on the RFS had been called into question ahead of a Tuesday meeting at the White House by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and ethanol and corn industry officials, particularly after the secretary said publicly in December that he thought there was a "win-win" for both parties -- a phrase frequently bandied by RFS critics.

So what does Perdue support? The secretary, during a press conference after his speech, said he backs granting a Clean Air Act waiver to allow year-round sale of 15 percent ethanol fuel nationwide (an expansion to the current 10 percent). Perdue also said he wouldn't support any proposal that would diminish the biofuel blending targets, such as by allowing ethanol exports in a biofuels credits program, called Renewable Identification Numbers, or RINs.

Perdue proceeded to question the connection between the price of RINs and demand for corn, which for ethanol and corn farmers may indicate that the secretary has an incomplete understanding of the program he pledged to defend.

"I've had direct conversations trying to understand why corn farmers would think they're going to benefit from high RIN prices. We're looking for things to build demand. I think some people have confused RIN prices with demand," Perdue told reporters, adding that he is an "open book about being educated on that."