POET CEO Jeff Lautt today issued the following statement in response to the latest USDA corn crop estimate:

“Although this year’s drought poses challenges for farmers and corn customers, we need to remember it is a one-year problem, and even by today’s USDA estimate, the 2012 crop would still be the eighth largest in history.

“Some in Washington have seized on Americans’ fear during this time and used it to try to undermine our country’s renewable fuel efforts. It is a lack of rain, not ethanol, that is causing corn prices to rise. Additionally, ethanol’s use of corn is often overstated. After factoring in the high-protein animal feed produced at ethanol plants, the industry’s net use of last year’s corn crop was only 16 percent.

“Ethanol production has created jobs and new income for farmers, and it has helped drive higher yields and increases in corn production that creates a greater corn supply during times like these.

“The Renewable Fuel Standard is long-term policy that has worked, helping boost farm income, lower dependence on imported oil and provide jobs in rural America rather than overseas. As both the national and international energy agencies have noted, flexibility exists in that standard.

“Attacking long-term energy policy would be a poor response to a short-term problem, and attacking a key farm market at a time when farmers face weather-related challenges just doesn’t make sense.”