archer daniels midland co and poet llc stand to benefit from a new 700 million aid program to mitigate the financial effects of the covid19 pandemic on biofuel producers adm and poet are each receiving 50 million to cover losses at a combined 45 facilities according to usda data obtained by the wall street journal poet accounts for 38 of the facilities located in nine states the program announced friday will aid 195 biofuel facilities that were forced to cut production or close down entirely during the early days of the pandemic the program doubles what the us department of agriculture gave to the biofuel industry last year as part of a 26 billion aid package also aimed at helping farmers recover from the pandemic the usda estimates producers of biofuels which use crops such as corn and soybeans as feedstocks sustained unexpected losses of 37 billion from the pandemic as businesses reopen and fuel demand returns usdas covid19 support will help ensure a strong and swift recovery across the rural economy a representative for poet said in an emailed statement biofuel production particularly ethanol fell amid government efforts to control the pandemic sliding to a record low of 537000 barrels a day in late april 2020 according to data from the us energy information administration production returned to prepandemic levels by june 2021 with the eia reporting thursday that us daily output is at 1071 million barrels a day fridays announcement by the usda comes as the industry awaits the decision from the us environmental protection agency regarding ethanol blending mandates earlier this week reports surfaced that the biden administration will likely increase the amount of ethanol mixed into us fuel amid a surge in gasoline prices this year