A Changing
World for
US Renderers
“F
rom a business perspective, it will be a challenging
environment in Washington, DC, from increased
regulations to higher corporation tax rates,” said Randy Russell
of The Russell Group during the North American Renderers
Association virtual spring meeting in early April. “We all
need to be prepared.” While United States (US) renderers
dealt with the immediate and unknown effects of the global
COVID-19 pandemic a year ago, a changed world 12 months
later has renderers facing new challenges, from a federal
government focused on climate and environmental issues,
to export concerns from heightened consumer demand for
goods from overseas (see “Newsline” on page 8), along with
tight feedstock markets due to increasing biofuel production.
“The top issue of President Joe Biden’s administration is
climate,” Russell stated. “Any efforts the rendering industry can
make to support this will be important.” He said Democrats
in Congress have the slimmest margin of party majority in
history—the Senate is equally split with 50 Republicans and 50
Democrats, meaning Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat,
will get to break tie votes. In the House of Representatives,
Democrats hold a 51 percent majority although they only
represent 16 percent of the country’s land area. Russell noted
that with lots of retirements on agriculture committees in
Congress leading to new members, constant reeducation on
rendering is necessary, not only for members but also their
staff. Only 35 House members out of 435 individuals are from
rural communities.
NARA Biofuels Committee Chairman Mike Rath, Darling
Ingredients Inc., said the biofuels industry is experiencing
tight feedstock availability and high feedstock prices due to
soybean export demand. From November 1, 2020, through
April 1, 2021, soybean oil prices doubled with animal fats
following. Although the US blender’s tax credit was reinstated
retroactively in December 2019, mandated federal renewable
fuel volumes for 2021 have still not been set by the US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This volatility is also
causing renewable identification number (RIN) credit prices for
biofuels to climb higher, with some forecasting more fuel will
By Tina Caparella
be produced than RINs available. Rath agreed with Russell’s
comment earlier that climate is high on Biden’s radar, which
the biofuels industry sees as an opportunity.
Floyd Vergara, director of state government affairs at the
National Biodiesel Board, shared with the group that there
is “so much happening at the state level it makes my head
spin,” all of which is based on carbon reduction. He stated
that in 2009, California was the only state that had a suite of
carbon policy goals, but by 2019, half the country had similar
targets that cover more than half of the US population. The
state of Washington just passed a low carbon fuel policy while
Colorado and several Northeastern states are implementing
similar plans, some more aggressive than California. Vergara
said “lots of everything”—biodiesel, renewable diesel,
ethanol, biogas, and electrification—will be needed to meet
these new carbon reductions. By 2030, state policies will
create a 3.6-billion-gallon demand for biomass-based diesel,
with California accounting for 2.1 billion of those gallons. A
multibillion-gallon diesel market after 2040 is still projected
for California, despite its push for electrification, Vargas
commented.
One important item of news during NARA’s virtual spring
meeting was the announcement that Nancy Foster, NARA
president and chief executive officer, will retire at the end
of this year after eight years at the helm. “It was not an easy
decision, but I feel both NARA and the Fats and Proteins
Research Foundation are in good shape,” she told members.
A search committee will be formed to find her replacement.
Committees Take Care of Business
NARA committees addressed various issues, beginning
with Dr. David Meeker, senior vice president of NARA scientific
services, notifying Feed Committee members that he is
serving on three African swine fever (ASF) working groups.
A meat packer exercise series in May included renderers
and an exercise in Iowa in the fall will test the plan. The
goal is for every US rendering plant to have a voluntary
plan if there is an ASF outbreak. Karla Thieman, The Russell
12 June 2021 Render www.rendermagazine.com
/www.rendermagazine.com
