The Renewable Fuels Standard has been front and center in Washington since the Environmental Protection Ag­­ency (EPA) last month proposed to roll back total 2014 renewable fuel blending requirements to 15.52 billion gallons, a whopping 1 billion gallons less than 2013 totals and 2.63 billion gallons below the mandate set in the Renewable Fuel Standard 2 (RFS2) law. This decision strikes a blow to conventional ethanol production, as well as dampens the prospects for advanced biofuels.

Renewable fuels play a significant role in American agriculture, but have certainly not been the only driver of demand for agricultural products. Since the RFS2 was put into place in 2007, agricultural exports have increased 57 percent, total livestock output has increased 31...