Biodiesel Companies Press Biden Admin for Tax Credit Guidance

By Marc Heller

Biofuel producers who want to take advantage of a new clean fuels tax credit next year say they desperately need to know how the Treasury Department intends to implement it.

Companies worried about the Biden administration’s delay in outlining the details of the credit — which is supposed to take effect Jan. 1 — are calling on Treasury to reveal some details now, so that producers can base year-end business decisions on what to expect in 2025.

“Lack of guidance today is already impacting biodiesel production,” said ADM and five other producers in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sept. 20, urging quick action on the tax credit in Section 45Z of the Internal Revenue Code. Without some kind of “safe harbor” guidance, production could grind to a halt, they warned.

Higher diesel and fertilizer prices are squeezing farm profit margins ahead of the midterm elections. Farmers in Iowa and Kansas discuss rising harvest costs, the war in Iran and whether those pressures will change their votes. Peter Tubbs reports on the debate over farm input costs and the differing political responses across the Corn Belt.