By TIM ALEXANDER

Illinois Correspondent

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Leaders with the Illinois Corn Growers Assoc. (ICGA) have returned from their annual “D.C. fly-in,” but not before leaving the Illinois political delegation with a list of their top legislative priorities for 2018.

“These days, it’s always a good time to get to the Hill and talk corn farmer issues,” said ICGA President Aron Carlson, a Winnebago farmer, before the contingent left for Washington, D.C.. “Issues are moving at a faster pace than ever.”

Carlson’s words proved prophetic: During the March 11-14 trip, the hot-button issue of fuel Renewable Identification Number (RIN) prices was at the forefront of agriculture-related discussions on Capitol Hill. By the time the group had returned to Illinois, the issue was still unresolved.

“Our top issue is the RINs situation, and it could change again today,” ICGA spokesperson Tricia Braid said on March 16.

“A month ago, when we were planning this fly-in, no one would have thought we’d be talking RINs while we were in D.C.,” Carlson noted.

A move to cap prices for RINs, which are assigned to each gallon of renewable fuel, is being led by oil-state senators including Republican Ted Cruz of Texas. A series of high-profile meetings have been held on the issue at the White House with President Donald Trump in attendance.

Along with opposing the proposed cap on RIN prices, other top ICGA legislative priorities were discussed with lawmakers. They include:

•Maintaining the crop insurance program in the next farm bill as a primary risk management tool for Illinois corn farmers

•Improving upon the existing farm bill safety net program

•Growing and maintaining foreign export markets through existing and new trade agreements

•Securing funding for lock and dam improvements

•Building market access for higher blends of ethanol

The ICGA group also planned to meet with representatives of the governments of Mexico and Canada to discuss trade issues.

“With the President signing the executive orders enacting tariffs against steel and aluminum imports, there’s never a time like the present to sit down in person with our trading partners and reassure them of our commitment to maintaining the free and open trade of corn and corn-related products,” Carlson explained.

Those tariff orders were also on the minds of soybean farmers. In response to Trump’s early-March announcement of the new tariffs, the Illinois Soybean Growers (ISG) issued a statement from Chair Lynn Rohrscheib, who farms in Fairmount.

“The (ISG) is upset about implications that may result from President Donald J. Trump’s announcement about tariffs,” Rohrscheib said. “Trade and access to international customers are vital to Illinois’ 43,000 soybean farmers. Action by China to restrict imports of Illinois and U.S. soybeans could be the first step in a series of actions that would harm farmers like me.”

She described the impact of losing China as a trade partner for soybeans, saying the nation accounts for about $14 billion in value and nearly 1.2 billion bushels of U.S. beans annually.

“We have seen that Brazil and Argentina are happy to take our place in the Chinese marketplace,” she stated. “Their harvest will be in full swing and they can supply the market both short- and long-term.”

ICGA leaders had no official comment on the results of their fly-in to D.C., Braid said on Friday, citing the ongoing RIN price cap debate. A cap would reduce ethanol demand by more than 750 million gallons and cost corn farmers as much as 25 cents per bushel, according to university researchers and the ICGA.