Governor Branstad delivered poignant testimony at the EPA’s public hearing on proposed Renewable Fuel Standards in Kansas City, Kansas today.

Branstad started off his speech, alongside Missouri Governor Nixon and Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey, by remarking that the public hearing should have been in Iowa. The governor then outlined the impact of the EPA’s new Renewable Fuel Standards on the biofuel and ethanol industries in Iowa.

“First of all, the price of corn has fallen to $3.38 a bushel, well below the cost of production, and the USDA estimates that farm income will decline 32 percent this year,” said Branstad. “The EPA’s indecision and proposed rules have negatively impacted land prices, farm machinery manufacturers, and rippled throughout rural America.”

Branstad went on to point out that the rest of America should enjoy the same kind of consumer choice that Iowa residents have at the pump.

“Consumers should have the choice to choose ethanol and biofuels,” said Branstad. “But when oil companies are preventing those efforts in parts of the country, consumers are having to pay much more for their fuel.”

The governor also encouraged the EPA to back local, rural farmers instead of massive oil companies.

“The EPA has a choice: protect the deep pockets of big oil or nurture consumer choice, renewable energy growth, and a healthy rural economy,” said Branstad. “Unless you advance a robust RFS, you will constrain growth in the rural economy.”

After the hearing, Governor Branstad spoke at a Rally for Rural America meeting, along with Nixon and Northey.