Iowa Biodiesel Board Approaches 20 Years as a Champion of Biodiesel

by Dave Walton (American Soybean Association/Biobased Diesel Daily) The organization has cemented and proven its important role in the livelihood of Iowa’s soybean farmers and biodiesel producers alike. -- Next year, the Iowa Biodiesel Board will celebrate its 20th anniversary—two decades of showing up, speaking up and fighting for a market that matters enormously to Iowa soybean farmers and biodiesel producers alike. That milestone is worth pausing on, not just to mark the calendar but to understand what the organization actually does, why it exists and what the biodiesel industry in Iowa looks like because of it.

Founded in 2007 by the Iowa Soybean Association, IBB was built on a straightforward premise: Iowa soybeans need a dedicated, expert advocate in the biodiesel space. The soybean checkoff—the farmer-funded mechanism that drives soy promotion and research—provides a significant share of IBB’s funding. That relationship is central to how IBB operates and why it delivers results.

Biodiesel is one of the most valuable markets Iowa soybean farmers have. In 2024, the biodiesel industry supported roughly $1 per bushel in soybean value in Iowa and contributed approximately $598 million in overall economic value to the state, according to a study by Clean Fuels Alliance America. Nationwide, biobased diesel supports an estimated 10 percent of the value of every bushel grown in the U.S.

Iowa leads the nation in biodiesel production, and soybean oil is the feedstock of choice for many of the state’s plants. That geographic and agronomic alignment—Iowa soybeans crushed nearby, the oil converted into fuel, the value staying close to home—is the kind of supply-chain integration that farm organizations dream about. Protecting it is protecting farm income.

It has not been without challenges. Three Iowa biodiesel plants have closed in recent years, a reminder that market leadership is never guaranteed. The plants that remain need the right environment and the right advocates to survive difficult economic cycles.

One of the more compelling aspects of IBB’s funding model is how efficiently it uses checkoff investment. Producer members—the biodiesel plants themselves—contribute meaningful dues and resources to IBB alongside the checkoff dollars from ISA. That means soybean-checkoff dollars directed to IBB are multiplied by industry dollars, amplifying Iowa’s biodiesel-education efforts.

The return on that investment shows up in real-world wins. The IBB played a central role in the Governor’s Biofuel Access Bill of 2022, widely considered the most comprehensive state biofuels legislation in the country. The bill doubled Iowa’s biodiesel production tax credit, created first-in-the-nation retailer incentives for B30 blends and expanded the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program. It passed the Iowa House 81-13 and the Iowa Senate 42-3, a margin that reflects the broad coalition IBB helped assemble.

IBB also drove advocacy that grew the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program from $10 million to $14 million annually, funding cost-share grants for biodiesel dispensers and terminal infrastructure—fastening biodiesel into the retail-fuel landscape for years to come.

IBB’s communications program is another area where the organization consistently overdelivers. A Meltwater analysis of media mentions shows total editorial reach growing from 28.4 million in 2022 to 357 million in 2025, with the cumulative total approaching 1 billion impressions. For a state trade organization of IBB’s size, that kind of reach is remarkable. Its rapid, credible outreach helps keep biodiesel’s value visible and its reputation intact during turbulent times.

As the nation’s top biodiesel-producing state, Iowa has an outsized stake in how federal policy develops. The Renewable Fuel Standard, the 45Z clean fuel production credit and the carbon-intensity methodologies used by federal programs all directly impact the economics of Iowa’s plants and the soybean-oil market they sustain. The IBB and its members help foster the strong support of every member of Congress from Iowa, a leading delegation on renewable fuels.

Now that U.S. EPA has finalized the highest renewable volume obligations (RVOs) in history, states with strong policies and active production capacity stand to capture proportionally more of that value.

As IBB approaches its 20th anniversary, the case for what it does is written into the landscape of Iowa’s biodiesel industry. The wins are real, the market is significant and the checkoff-backed expertise is specialized.