WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell led members of Kentucky’s federal delegation in urging Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, to reconsider the agency’s interpretation regarding how spent grains – a byproduct from Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey – are regulated and used to feed Kentucky’s dairy cows and beef cattle. Joining Senator McConnell on a letter to Commissioner Hamburg were Senator Rand Paul and Congressmen Hal Rogers, Ed Whitfield, Brett Guthrie, Thomas Massie, and Andy Barr.

In the letter to Commissioner Hamburg, the members say they have heard from Kentucky’s distilling and livestock producers on a regulatory matter proposed by the FDA that would impede the long-standing, symbiotic relationship between the Commonwealth’s distilleries and its farmers.  The proposed rule would tentatively place new regulations on what distilleries do with spent grains--the natural byproduct of the distillation process.
 
In the letter they wrote, “the distillation process requires a combination of corn, rye or barley.  The leftover liquid byproducts—the spent grains— are then typically provided to farmers for use as animal feed.  Changing the regulations for these spent grains could result in distilleries disposing of the byproducts rather than their allowing farmers continued access to them.  This is problematic for Kentucky because the disposal of spent grains would be costly, as rural municipal wastewater facilities are generally ill-equipped to handle the volume of spent grains produced by distilleries.  One distiller in our state has indicated their company would have to dispose of 400,000 gallons of spent grains per day, which would swamp their local wastewater treatment plant.  As a result of this lack of existing infrastructure, under this proposed rule, distillers would be required to form treatment plans for excess distillers’ grain.  This daunting task would cost distillers millions of dollars that could otherwise be spent creating long-term jobs.
 
“Additionally, spent grains have a long history of being fed to livestock.  This is due to its high protein content and affordability as distillers typically charge a nominal fee or offer spent grains to farmers free of charge.  Any action by the FDA inhibiting our distillers’ abilities to offer farmers spent grains would cost farmers an inexpensive and invaluable source of nutritious animal feed, driving up their costs as well.
 
“The distilling industry provides Kentucky with over 9,000 well-paying jobs, $415 million in annual payroll and $126 million in annual state and local tax revenue.  Moreover, Kentucky’s livestock industry— despite severe weather conditions in recent years— continues to place the Commonwealth as the leading beef cattle state east of the Mississippi River.  With the Commonwealth’s unemployment rate well above the national average, now is not the time to create needless regulatory burdens and increased costs for both of these growing industries.  This Administration's excessive regulatory agenda has already caused enough harm for Kentucky.
 
“It is our understanding the FDA intends to revisit this issue within the context of the proposed rule this summer.  In doing so, we would strongly urge your agency to exclude spent grains entirely from inclusion within any final rulemaking.” 

Regarding the letter, Dave Maples, President of the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association, said “As the largest cattle producing state east of the Mississippi River, it is critical Kentucky’s cattlemen continue to have access to low-cost, protein-rich distillers’ grains for their cattle. Thank you, Sen. McConnell for leading this letter, as well as Sen. Paul, and Congressmen Rogers, Whitfield, Guthrie, Massie, and Barr for once again fighting against overregulation in Washington on behalf of Kentucky cattlemen and livestock producers.”

Eric Gregory, President, Kentucky Distillers' Association, said “the Kentucky Distillers' Association and our 18 member companies applaud Leader McConnell for raising the awareness of this proposed rule with the FDA and the potential disastrous consequences to our signature Bourbon industry, our farm families and our communities. Our highly regulated distillers have been offering spent grains as a safe, natural and viable feed source to Kentucky's farmers for generations. It makes absolutely no sense to discard a product with a long history of safe use as animal feed and turn it into landfill waste, especially in this era of sustainability."