By Rob Shaffer, El Paso Farmer

American corn and soy farmers are preparing for a record harvest this year. With new technologies and practices, our yields for these mainstay crops are climbing even though our planted acreage hasn’t changed. It’s vital that we build stable, reliable markets for these crops that provide a sustainable return on our investments.

Farmers have made tremendous investments over many years in homegrown markets that can keep pace with our productivity. For example, soy processors have invested more than $6 billion to increase domestic crush capacity and keep more of the crop’s value here at home. And the renewable diesel industry – which combined with biodiesel now meets 8 percent of the nation’s on-road heavy-duty fuel needs – has invested billions to exponentially expand production capacity.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) could be the next big opportunity. If the U.S. is going to make a serious effort to meet the SAF Grand Challenge and annually produce 3 billion gallons of SAF by 2030, America’s soy and corn growers will have to provide the majority of the raw material. We’ve got to be smart in how we meet this new opportunity.

Building new, dedicated SAF production capacity is the best way to sustainably grow the market for corn and soy. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. will have more than 400 million gallons of dedicated SAF capacity by the end of 2024. That’s literally orders of magnitude greater than the 14 million gallons of SAF that U.S. companies produced in 2023.

Additional stand-alone projects and technologies are in the works, bringing the nation’s goal closer to reality. Airlines and a few traditional oil companies have made their own investments. Some refineries have completely converted to producing only renewable diesel and SAF. New projects such as these bring significant economic benefits. According to calculations from Clean Fuels Alliance America, every 100-million-gallon increase in production adds $1.09 billion in economic opportunity and 3,200 new jobs.

Federal and state policy should maximize the innovation, return on investment and job-creation potential of SAF. And we should be working hard to ensure that U.S.- grown soy and other crops are preferred raw materials based on their quality, sustainable productivity and economic benefits.

Some oil companies are offering a way to cut corners in reaching SAF goals: it’s called co-processing. Nearly any U.S. oil refinery can co-process a minimal amount of renewable oil – up to 5 percent – along with petroleum without changing processes or investing in significant new infrastructure. They can assume that the 5 percent renewable content incorporated at the start generates 5 percent renewable diesel or renewable jet. And if every U.S. refinery used 5 percent renewable content, they would use a significant amount of the available supply of fats and oils.

Unlike dedicated biofuel facilities that use 100 percent renewable fats and oils on a 24/7 basis, co-processing refineries switch back and forth from petroleum to renewable inputs depending on the relative economics. Co-processing refineries are not reliable or consistent customers for farmers. And if U.S. oil refiners are incentivized to co-process even minimal amounts of biomass feedstock, they could easily outcompete dedicated facilities for the available supplies.

Stand-alone SAF producers will not invest in plants and infrastructure or create jobs if co-processed SAF qualifies for taxpayer-funded incentives.

Congress determined 15 years ago that co-processing oil refineries do not generate the same economic and environmental benefits as dedicated facilities. Moreover, if refiners co-process soy, canola or even corn oil, it does not meet the federal definition of “sustainable aviation fuel.” Since farmers have made substantial investments and taken tangible steps to meet the nation’s SAF goals, it is no bargain for us to allow co-processing oil refineries to edge dedicated facilities out of the tax credits.