Food processors worldwide face rising prices for their supplies, as more food and feed crops are diverted for biofuel production. US policies have actively encouraged this switch to biofuels.
Now the American Meat Institute (AMI) says its members are feeling the pain, in particular due to the price rises for corn.
This week association president and chief executive officer Patrick Boyle called on legislators to grant tax incentives and other legislative vehicles to support similar energy-based opportunities for animal agriculture.
Boyle urged the House to take action to minimize the adverse affects of rising input costs on meat and poultry packers and processors.
Boyle said that dramatically increased demand for corn has pressed market forces to demand higher feed prices.
"As a result, animal agriculture producers are considering alternatives to their feeding, nutrition, and dietary regimen which, in turn, impacts meat and poultry quality, consumer offerings, livestock and poultry farm efficiency, and the management of livestock and poultry operations," he said.
He was testifying before a subcommittee of the House's Ways and Means Committee.
Boyle urged Congress to take actions in four key areas to lessen the impact of dramatically increased corn demand, noting that doing so would "ultimately place the United States in a more competitive position in terms of energy security, diversity and availability."
He called for expanded research in ethanol byproduct safety, quality, and use. Research examining renewable energy technologies, such as renewable diesel, biogas and cellulosic, should also be examined, he said.
"Federal research investment in meat and poultry nutrition could provide livestock and poultry producers with tools and supplements to help adjust their feeding regimen to incorporate distillers grains and other byproducts more easily," Boyle said.
He noted that several reputable studies on distillers grains have been done.
"However, animal agriculture producers are in need of dietary solutions that they can employ on their farming and production operations," he said.
Incentives for for all renewable energy, including renewable diesel and methane conversion, should be made more equitable, he suggested.
Boyle said that AMI believes that the US and the world need a policy that supports a broad diversity of energy options and renewable energy sources to supply energy and transportation needs.
He called for support a working lands conservation program to encourage environmentally friendly feed stuffs production.
This type of program "would remove the regulatory and legislative restrictions on producers that elect to grow crops on land currently locked in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), but still maintain environmental benefits to the land," Boyle said.
He called for moves to expose consumers to more renewable fuels by allowing the ethanol tariff to expire.
"This would potentially expose consumers to more renewable energy and broaden the diversity of our energy sources," Boyle said.
