Ag Policy Blog: Senate Ag Chair Boozman Sees Path for E15 but Farm Bill Compromises Likely Needed

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March 16, 2026

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by Chris Clayton (DTN Progressive Farmer) The chairman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee said Friday he sees a pathway to pass year-round E15 and a new Farm Bill, but some provisions in the House bill involviR-NE)ng pesticide rules and California's Proposition 12 would likely need to be dropped because of Democratic opposition.

Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., visited a Nebraska cattle feedyard and a major ethanol facility with Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and held a forum with farmers while touring the area. Some of the biggest policy topics such as E15 and passing the Farm Bill have been front-and-center all year, but the conflict with Iran has elevated those issues.

Ricketts is up for reelection this fall against independent Dan Osborn, a labor-union leader who ran a strong race in 2024 against Sen. Deb Fischer, also a Republican. Ricketts doesn't serve on the Agriculture Committee, but he does serve with Boozman on the Senate Energy and Public Works Committee, which could play a pivotal role in whether year-round E15 legislation passes Congress this year.

IRAN INFLUENCES E15 DEBATE

Given low commodity prices and high input prices, Ricketts said passing E15 is one of the biggest things Congress can do to boost demand for commodities. The war in Iran -- which has pushed up average gas prices 70 cents in the past month -- could also be a driver to help advance the cause of year-round 15% ethanol. Ricketts said he had talked to Energy Secretary Chris Wright on this point, hitting home the focus on lowering fuel costs.

"If you are looking to be able to bring down the costs for consumers at the pump, you need to be pushing E15," Ricketts told a group of about 50 agricultural leaders from around the state.

Ricketts later noted the war in Iran highlights why the country doesn't want to be dependent on foreign sources of oil.

"We want to take this opportunity to really hammer home the point about ethanol -- that it is a part of American energy independence," he said.

Mark McHargue, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau, asked about what it will take to actually get E15 across the finish line in Congress.

Boozman said he has to balance support for E15 with concerns he has heard from the one small oil refinery in his state that produces jet fuel. Boozman said major oil companies, or "Big Oil," had been largely agnostic about E15 until last fall, and some smaller refiners are worried policy changes could put them at a disadvantage.

"This is an opportunity for the big refineries to squeeze out the small refineries, so that's a problem," Boozman said.

Still, Boozman said he believes there's widespread support for passing E15 if lawmakers can get past some of those refiner concerns. Boozman later added, "We're going to get that done, and we've got an excellent chance to get that done in the near future."

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Farm groups push for year-round E15 fuel to help gas prices during war with Iran (Iowa Public Radio)
Biofuels blending in focus as US-Iran war raises energy security concerns (Quantum Commodity Intelligence)
Working Families Tax Cuts Supports Farmers and Ranchers (Office of Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE)/KNEB)
Gas prices are surging. Farm groups say American ethanol could help ease the pain (Harvest Public Media/KCUR; includes AUDIO)
Smith: politics and big oil slow nationwide year-round E15 push (Brownfield Ag News; includes AUDIO)
Ernst: E15 helps keep gas prices affordable, creates market demand for farmers (Ethanol Producer Magazine; includes VIDEO)
Senate Ag Chair Explains E15 Refinery Issue (Energy.Agwired.com; includes AUDIO)
Hinson suggests E15 could ride with broader Iran funding package (Brownfield Ag News)
Grassley says E15 unlikely to pass alone, targets defense package instead (Brownfield Ag News)
Poll: Voters overwhelmingly support year-round E15 (KFGO)
Trump administration steps up as Congress fails to pass year-round E15 (Iowa Agribusiness Radio Networks; includes AUDIO)

Excerpt from Iowa Public Radio: Nick Bowdish, president and CEO of Siouxland Ethanol, said E15 is a solution for higher prices at the pump. The gasoline blend contains up to 15% ethanol.

“We're American-made, domestically made, and all of our plants are actually sitting on fuel supplies that could be doing more work in serving the consumer, but there's an archaic fuel regulation that still to this day limits ethanol and gasoline at 10% for all motor vehicles,” Bowdish said.

Craig Brodersen said all the corn he raises on his farm in western Iowa gets sold to a local ethanol plant.

“E15 helps the consumer. It really does. You’re not buying it from a foreigner. You're buying it from us,” Brodersen said.

Federal rules restrict E15 sales from June through mid-September because of air-quality concerns.

So far Congress has failed to pass legislation approving year-round use.

The Senate Agriculture Committee heard testimony this week on ways to boost demand for farm products. Several participants urged lawmakers to approve year-round E15.

Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the national Renewable Fuels Association, said President Donald Trump could issue emergency waivers allowing existing retailers to continue selling E15 in the summer. It's a move he says could save drivers up to 50 cents a gallon. READ MORE

Excerpt from Office of Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE)/KNEB: The Farm Bureau reports Nebraska farm bankruptcies were up 29% last year. But this statistic doesn’t tell the whole story. For Nebraskans, agriculture is a proud generational business. Our farms and ranches are passed down through families who have poured blood, sweat, and tears into their ground and livestock. Many would rather leave the agriculture industry altogether than give their operations up through bankruptcy.

In Nebraska, I have heard directly from farmers and ranchers about policies needed to support farm country. Last month, I hosted an ag roundtable with Representative Adrian Smith in Hastings. This week, I will host another in West Point with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman, Senator John Boozman of Arkansas.

Having Chairman Boozman in our state to celebrate Nebraska ag is important for our farmers. Chairman Boozman and I will share our work on the Farm Bill, renewable fuels, and how the Working Families Tax Cuts will strengthen Nebraskans. It gives us a chance to discuss policies that strengthen Nebraska agriculture.

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Nebraska is a biofuels state. Nebraska is second in the nation for ethanol production. We have 25 ethanol plants that employ over 1,300 Nebraskans. The Working Families Tax Cuts unleashes Nebraska’s power to fuel the world. Senate Republicans extended the 45Z clean fuel credit to ag and ethanol producers. This credit raises demand for agricultural feedstocks. The 45Z credit will support domestic biofuel production. In turn, that means more investment and better prices for farmers.

The Working Families Tax Cuts supports the next generation of ag leaders. Whether taking over the family business or starting their own operation, we encourage young Nebraskans to enter the ag industry. That’s why we strengthened the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Benefit. We extended its coverage from five years to ten years. That gives new producers access to critical risk management tools for longer.

We also expanded and made permanent the Death Tax exemption. 80% of Nebraska farms are family owned. They should stay that way. By making the death tax exemption permanent, we’re given family-owned farms and ranches more certainty. Now, $200 billion in hard-earned family farm assets across the country will go to the next generation, not the government. READ MORE

Excerpt from Harvest Media/KCUR: Even though Congress hasn’t approved year-round use of E15 fuel across the country, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said he remains optimistic that something will get done.

“There's a high level of frustration on part of the farm community that we've had this E15 legislation on the one-yard line multiple times and we cannot seem to get it across the goal line,” Naig said.

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The operators of ethanol plants are also watching closely.

Siouxland Ethanol in eastern Nebraska produces about 100 million gallons of ethanol from 33 million bushels of corn each year, said President and CEO Nick Bowdish.

“We're American-made, domestically made, and all of our plants are actually sitting on fuel supplies that could be doing more work in serving the consumer," Bowdish said. "But there's an archaic fuel regulation that still to this day limits ethanol and gasoline at 10% for all motor vehicles."

For Bowdish, the conflict over E15 transcends politics — because it’s rooted in agriculture.

“It still needs a vehicle to get through both chambers and become law,” Bowdish said. “And what gets me fired up and what gets me frustrated is this nation's 500,000 corn farmers that have the most at risk and the most at stake here over the politics of the oil industry protecting its market share.” READ MORE

Excerpt from Brownfield Ag News: A U.S. Senator from Minnesota says politics have made nationwide, year-round E15 an interesting topic of discussion in the Senate.

“It’s hard to find someone who opposes it, yet you really can’t get it done.”

Tina Smith tells Brownfield “let’s be honest. I think there are U.S. Senators who have big oil interests in their state who don’t want to talk about why they oppose it. It’s built on their constituencies. And then, there are some senators we could educate about the environmental benefits of E15 and why it’s important.”

Smith is on the Senate Ag Committee and she says a skinny farm bill might be a good vehicle to advance a solution.

“We’ve gotten close a couple of time and there are powerful people in the U.S. Senate who care a lot about this,” she says. “I know Senator Klobuchar has been a long-standing supporter of this as well, and I bet she’d like to get this done.”

Smith says the U.S. Senate Ag Committee is expected to mark up a skinny farm bill later this spring. READ MORE; includes AUDIO

Excerpt from Ethanol Producer Magazine: On March 10, during a Senate Committee on Agriculture hearing, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, called to expand domestic markets and increase consumption of homegrown biofuels by making permanent, year-round E15 a reality.

As a long-time supporter of E15, Ernst emphasized that Congress “should be looking at every opportunity” to expand American biofuel consumption, noting that “energy security is national security, and higher ethanol blends can help keep gas prices affordable here at home.”

Watch Senator Ernst’s remarks here.

Following Ernst’s questioning, President of the National Corn Growers Association Jed Bower agreed with her by saying, “This is a prime time to bring that strength and domestic production up so we're less reliant on all the foreign countries. It's so much better. We grow a product here. We can produce it here. We can burn it here. It's a perfect opportunity for the American farmer and the American people.”

President of the American Farm Bureau Federation Zippy Duvall also supported Ernst by saying,“E15 is a no brainer. It's a win, win, win. It's a win for consumers. Win for the farmer.”

Ernst continued to highlight her efforts to fully unleash homegrown American biofuels through 45Z, urging the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Agriculture to work together on a final rule that recognizes a wide array of on-farm practices and truly puts farmers first.

Background:

Ernst’s bipartisan Ethanol for America Act would remove regulatory roadblocks and ensure E15 can be offered to folks filling up their cars using existing infrastructure at local gas stations across our nation.

Ernst has continued to work to secure permanent year-round E15 following President Trump’s announcement in Iowa earlier this year. READ MORE

Excerpt from Energy.AgWired.com: Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-AR) sat down with Agri-Pulse Editor-in-Chief Philip Brasher Monday during the Ag and Food Policy Summit and explained what the real issue is with E15 legislation in Congress as he sees it.

Boozman said it started last year when Big Oil suddenly came out opposed to year-round E15. “And then they came out a few months ago, and said, we’re for it, but you’ve got to get rid of these small refineries. And I happen to have one in my state. It’s the only refinery in my state that produces gasoline and jet fuel, things like that, literally serves the entire southern part of our state, including the jet fuel for our airport in Little Rock. So it’s a big deal,” said Boozman, adding that is the case with refineries in several other states, which puts lawmakers like him in a difficult position. “So we’re very much in favor of getting E-15 done. I’m very much in favor of the Fisher Bill, you know, that does that, but I’m not in favor of somehow the big oil refineries, forcing consolidation with a smaller one, especially during this time.”

Boozman believes Congress ultimately can get it done, and it possibly can be included in the Senate version of the farm bill. “I’m also on the Environment and Public Works Committee….What we need to do is get them to sign off on it. So we’re talking to them, and ..if we can get that signed off, you know, we would be glad to stick it in there.”

Boozman added that E15 is at the top of Senator Thune’s priorities. “He understands, he wants to get these things done, and is counting on us to to push it forward.”

Listen to Sen. Boozman at the Agri-Pulse Summit:
Play Agri-Pulse Summit Sen. Boozman 24:16 READ MORE

Excerpt from Brownfield Ag News: Now that the EPA has issued its temporary waiver for E15, U.S. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says it’s time for Congress to act on a long-term solution.

“Our farmers do deserve that long-term certainty.”

During a press call on Wednesday, the Iowa Republican said she’s optimistic a bill could be brought before the U.S. House soon.

“I think we are pretty close to an agreement,” she said. “We’re going to see bill text very soon. We understand this agreement is a product of much negotiation.”

Hinson suggests E15 could be included in a broader supplemental funding package tied to the conflict in Iran.

“If that agreement is able to make it into that kind of a vehicle with the funding package, I would support that,” she said. “I obviously take a look at every package before I commit to voting for it. I’m looking at every legislative vehicle possible to get year-round E15 into law.”

The EPA’s announcement on Wednesday marked the fifth consecutive year the agency has utilized emergency fuel waivers. READ MORE

Excerpt from Brownfield Ag News: U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley is pushing to include year-round nationwide E15 legislation in a military spending bill.

The Iowa Republican tells Brownfield E15 can’t pass on its own.

“You’re never going to get E15 up as a separate piece of legislation in the Senate, you can in the House of Representatives.”

He says surging fuel and fertilizer prices are a result of the conflict with Iran.

“And since farmers are being hurt with what’s happening in the Middle East, it would be very appropriate to put E15 in that bill.”

Grassley says there’s also been discussion about including another round of farmer bridge assistance in a military spending package. READ MORE

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Ag Policy Blog: Senate Ag Chair Boozman Sees Path for E15 but Farm Bill Compromises Likely Needed

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