The biodiesel tax incentive is set to expire at the end of the year and Congress went home without passing an extension. South Dakota Soybean Association President Jerry Schmitz says this isn’t the first time the $1 per gallon tax credit has expired, only to have Congress pass an extension and make it retroactive. However, he says that creates a great deal of uncertainty for the biodiesel industry.

Association Treasurer John Horter says they asked Congress to pass at least a two-year extension to provide a little more certainty. Plus, they want the tax incentive to be converted to a producer’s credit.

Horter says even with the big agenda planned in the new Congress right after the first of the year, they are optimistic about passage.

Even without the tax credit industry officials say the industry can manage for a while because they have the certainty of the increased volumes of biodiesel in EPA’s renewable fuels standard mandate.