by Chuck Abbott (Successful Farming) Exports have been the lodestar of U.S. agriculture since the big Soviet grain deals of the Carter and Reagan years. One-fifth of U.S. farm production is exported. -- After decades of pursuing sales to foreign buyers, the
2024 Election
Back TO HOMEExclusive: Biden Administration to Approve E15 Gasoline Expansion Starting in 2025, Sources Say
by Jarrett Renshaw and Stephanie Kelly (Reuters) The White House will approve a request from a group of Midwest governors to allow year-round sales of gasoline with higher blends of ethanol, but will push the start date into next year, two
February 21, 2024 Read Full Article
Don’t Believe the EV Hype—For Ethanol, Stay the Course
by Doug Durante (Clean Fuels Development Coalition/South Dakota Farmers Union) Among the issues that have put a scare into the ethanol industry over the past few years, the threat of electric vehicles has received considerable attention. While threats to the RFS,
February 19, 2024 Read Full Article
Biden Administration Weighs Slowing the Shift to Electric Vehicles
by Maxine Joselow (Washington Post) The Environmental Protection Agency is considering relaxing one of its most significant climate change rules — tailpipe emissions limits for cars and trucks — by giving automakers more time to boost sales of electric vehicles, according
February 19, 2024 Read Full Article
Autoworkers Back Biden for Reelection Despite EV Concerns
by Timothy Cama (Politico Pro E&E News PM) The union's leader last year said the group needed more time to decide whether to back the president. -- The United Auto Workers union endorsed President Joe Biden for president Wednesday after he allayed
January 25, 2024 Read Full Article
Meet the ‘Conservative Influencer’ Trying to Upend Washington’s Cap-and-Trade System
by Adam Aton (E&E News Climatewire) Climate policy will be on the ballot this year in Washington state, thanks to a hedge fund executive who is spending millions of dollars to circumvent Democrats’ lock on state government. Washington’s cap-and-invest program has been
January 24, 2024 Read Full Article
Will Biden's EV Push Cost Him Come Election Time?
by James Osborne (Houston Chronicle) Sitting on stage at the Washington Auto Show last week surrounded by the latest electric offerings from Tesla and Rolls-Royce, Rep. Roger Williams, a North Texas Republican whose family had sold cars for three generations, shook his
January 22, 2024 Read Full Article
Agri-Pulse Open Mic Interview: Geoff Cooper, Renewable Fuels Association
(Agri-Pulse) In depth interviews with leaders in ag policy -- This week’s Open Mic guest is Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association. The Iowa caucuses once again provide the opportunity to press the merits of the renewable
January 16, 2024 Read Full Article
Did Trump or Biden Deliver More for Farmers? The Answer May Surprise You.
by Garrett Downs (Politico) The former president is using his ag record to appeal to Iowa voters. Farm income, however, rose under Biden. -- ... In fact, over the first three years of their presidencies, Biden and Trump’s payments to farmers are
January 16, 2024 Read Full Article
Republicans Dodge Iowa’s Hot-Button Energy Issue: CO2 Pipelines
Jeffrey Tomich (Politico Pro Climatewire)The GOP nominating process is moving on from the Hawkeye State. Voters still aren’t sure where candidates stand on carbon pipelines. -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley brought their
January 16, 2024 Read Full Article
‘Maximum Urgency and De Facto Risk’ — EPA Braces for 2024
by Kevin Bogardus (E&E News Greenwire) EPA needs to soon cement protections on air, climate and water to avoid those rules being buried by a Republican-led Congress and White House in 2025 if the coming elections turn against Democrats. In addition,
January 15, 2024 Read Full Article
GOP Sprint to the Iowa Caucuses: An Ag Primer to the 2024 GOP Presidential Primary Season
by Chris Clayton (DTN Progressive Farmer) Iowa farmers again have won over most of the leading Republican candidates for president when it comes to biofuels, but farmers also likely will again be caught in the crossfire between saber-rattling with China while
January 02, 2024 Read Full Article
Biofuels Vision Solidified for Haley
(Iowa Renewable Fuels Association/Biobased Diesel Daily) Nikki Haley is now the second candidate currently campaigning in Iowa for the Republican nomination to take a positive position on all eight topics vital to the future of Iowa farmers and biofuels producers. Haley was
December 29, 2023 Read Full Article
American Drivers Have Logged 90 Billion Miles on UNL88 (E15)
(Growth Energy) AAA projects that more than 49 million Americans will hit the road and drive more than 50 miles from their homes for Thanksgiving this week. That’s a lot of miles traveled, and a lot of stops at the gas station to
November 28, 2023 Read Full Article
White House Stalls Ethanol Expansion in Midwest Amid Price Concerns
by Jarrett Renshaw and Stephanie Kelly (Reuters) The White House is stalling action on requests by Farm Belt states to allow regional sales of gasoline blended with higher volumes of ethanol after oil industry warnings that the move could cause regional
November 27, 2023 Read Full Article
Biden-Harris Administration Invests $444 Million to Strengthen America’s Infrastructure for Permanent Safe Storage of Carbon Dioxide Pollution
(U.S. Department of Energy) Funding from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda Supports Projects Across Twelve States to Slash Harmful CO2 Emissions and Deliver High-Quality Local Jobs -- As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
November 21, 2023 Read Full Article
DeSantis Says He'll Protect Federal Ethanol Mandate Despite Previous Push to End It
by Amanda Rooker (KCCI) Florida Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis is promising to support renewable fuels if elected president, despite repeated attacks from former President Donald Trump surrounding the corn-based fuel ethanol. During the Iowa GOP's Lincoln Dinner last July,
November 17, 2023 Read Full Article
Sen. Tim Scott Checks the Biofuels Boxes
by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) According to Biofuels Vision 2024, Sen. Tim Scott is the first Republican presidential candidate to check all the boxes on important issues for the biofuel industry. Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Vice President Brad Wilson, the president/general manager of the Western
November 10, 2023 Read Full Article
Group Finds GOP Candidates Support Year Round E15
by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) An Iowa biofuels coalition reports unanimous support among all Republican presidential candidates for consumer access to year-round E15 and opposition to electric vehicles (EV) mandates. “All the active candidates in Iowa agree that consumers deserve choices in how
October 06, 2023 Read Full Article
Here Comes the EV Backlash
by Arianna Skibell (Politico's Power Switch) The battle against electric cars is turning into a campaign issue for conservative politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, a development that threatens to neuter the climate benefits of moving away from gasoline. Some European
October 03, 2023 Read Full Article
Vance Unveils Legislation Eliminating EV Tax Credits
by Zack Budryk (The Hill) Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) introduced legislation Thursday that would eliminate federal tax credits for electric vehicles, the latest in a series of Republican salvos against EV technology. Vance’s bill, first reported by The Daily Caller, would undo several EV
September 29, 2023 Read Full Article
Feenstra: Combating President Biden’s Electric Vehicle Mandates -- President Biden Refuses to Accept the Facts. 95% of Cars on the Road Today Run on Liquid Fuel and Are Significantly More Affordable and Reliable than Electric Vehicles.
by Randy Feenstra (Congressman (R-IA 4th District)/The Iowa Torch) ... There is no clearer example of his executive overreach than his hasty and costly push to electrify every car and truck in the United States. At his direction, he has called on
September 22, 2023 Read Full Article
CO2 Pipelines: The New Populist Republican Target
by Mike Soraghan (E&E News Energywire) Far-right leaders are often fans of pipelines crossing the country, but when it comes to ones carrying carbon dioxide — forget it. Big pipeline and carbon sequestration projects in the Midwest, which would involve thousands of
September 22, 2023 Read Full Article
A Local Struggle over Carbon Pipelines in Iowa Is Becoming a 2024 Presidential Flashpoint
by Jillian Frankel and Alex Tabet (NBC News) GOP presidential candidates are trying to strike a balance between supporting Iowa’s ethanol industry and maintaining landowners’ rights. -- ... The questions stem from efforts by three companies — Summit Carbon Solutions, Navigator CO₂
September 20, 2023 Read Full Article
DeSantis Trashes Biden Push for Electric Vehicles as He Tries to Woo Iowa Farmers
by Jack Birle (Washington Examiner) Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is looking to woo farmers in the Hawkeye State by vowing his opposition to President Joe Biden's "heavy-handed push for electric vehicles." DeSantis, in an opinion piece for the Des Moines Register on Saturday, laid out his belief that a "robust agriculture sector is
September 11, 2023 Read Full Article
Trump Vows to End ‘Madness’ of EV Push
by Lauren Sforza (The Hill) Former President Trump is vowing to end the “madness” of the Biden administration’s push for electric vehicles — a likely appeal to voters in the swing state of Michigan. In a pair of Truth Social posts Monday evening, Trump
September 06, 2023 Read Full Article
Tim Scott Hits Chinese Communist Party, Touts Ethanol in Iowa Ad
by Caroline Vakil (The Hill)Republican presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) is targeting the Chinese Communist Party over purchasing farmland in Iowa and touts his support of ethanol production in a new radio ad in the early voting state. “Sen. Tim Scott is
August 15, 2023 Read Full Article
Iowa Ag Entrepreneur, Carbon Capture Pipeline Advocate Hosts Presidential Candidates
by Brianne Pfannenstiel and Donnelle Eller (Des Moines Register) A handful of Republican presidential candidates attended a private event this week hosted by Iowa agriculture entrepreneur and GOP donor Bruce Rastetter, who's behind Summit Carbon Solution's plan to build a controversial carbon capture
August 02, 2023 Read Full Article
Opinion: Ethanol Is the Solution to Transportation Problems – Inside Sources
by Larry Elder (Inside Sources/Prescott eNews) ... The Biden administration says electric vehicles are a solution to decarbonizing the transportation sector while also making driving more affordable. However, its “electric vehicle revolution” operates in an alternate reality where billions of dollars
July 31, 2023 Read Full Article
A Left-Right Alliance Puts Iowa’s CO2 Pipelines on the Presidential Agenda
by Jonathan Weisman (New York Times) Liberal environmentalists and conservative landowners, led by the former congressman Steve King, are pressuring Republican candidates to oppose three Midwestern pipelines. -- Emma Schmidt, a lifelong environmental activist in Rockwell City, Iowa, had long searched for potent
July 31, 2023 Read Full Article
Presidential Candidate Doug Burgum Defends Eminent Domain to Build Carbon Capture Pipelines
by Donnelle Eller (Des Moines Register) North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said Sunday he wants to see carbon capture pipeline projects succeed to boost the value of Midwest corn and soybeans — and help revitalize struggling rural towns. “The whole point of
July 31, 2023 Read Full Article
Biden Meets Privately with Auto Workers’ Union President
by Zack Colman and Holly Otterbein (Politico) President Joe Biden and United Auto Workers leader Shawn Fain met Wednesday at the White House, a union official and a White House aide told POLITICO, as labor contract discussions are beginning between the
July 20, 2023 Read Full Article
Vivek Ramaswamy Endorses Ethanol Subsidies: 'True Consumer Choice'
by Tiana Lowe Doescher (Washington Examiner) ... "There are other countries that have true consumer choice. In Brazil, and many countries, it's true that any consumer can choose what blend they want, and we know what choices they make. They do
July 14, 2023 Read Full Article
At Iowa Event, Trump Plans to Go after DeSantis over Ethanol
by Thomas Beaumont (Associated Press) Former President Donald Trump plans to headline his largest Iowa campaign event in nearly four months with a speech to thousands at an arena in the western part of the state. Trump will use his appearance in Council Bluffs on
July 08, 2023 Read Full Article
Democrats Should Be Wary of Banning Gas Vehicles
by Ronnie Shows (Centrist Democrats of America/The Hill) ... One such agenda item is to speed the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) by blocking the sale of new gas- and diesel-powered cars and trucks. To be clear, I don’t have any issues with people
June 27, 2023 Read Full Article
Who’s Shaping the GOP’s 2024 Energy Strategy?
by Arianna Skibell (Politico's Power Switch) ... An army of political nonprofits, think tanks and Trump alumni are drafting energy policy plans they hope can rocket a Republican into the White House and provide the template for dismantling President Joe Biden’s
June 17, 2023 Read Full Article
Designer EVs Are Getting in the Way of the Climate Movement
by Owen Bellwood (Jalopnik) A Wired report discusses how eco-conscious choices like switching to an electric vehicle are being overshadowed by the glamor associated with going green. ... But now, a new report from Wired warns that such glamorous solutions to the climate
May 04, 2023 Read Full Article
Mike Pence: Energy Wonk?
by Scott Waldman and Lamar Johnson (Politico's Power Switch) If former Vice President Mike Pence wants to beat his onetime boss in a 2024 presidential primary matchup, he’ll need to find his own lane. Is getting in the weeds on energy policy one way
April 20, 2023 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Says It Will Die if It Cannot Take Farmers’ Lands for a CO2 Pipeline. Will Trump Support Them?
by Timothy P. Carney (Washington Examiner) Iowa’s ethanol industry, which exists only because of federal and state subsidies and mandates, reportedly may collapse if it cannot build massive statewide networks of pipelines for distributing and burying the carbon dioxide emitted by its ethanol
March 17, 2023 Read Full Article
Trump Says DeSantis Will 'Beg for Mercy' in Iowa after He Once Voted to Kill a Prized Ethanol Mandate
by Brent D. Griffiths (Business Insider) - Trump slammed Ron DeSantis for previously moving to kill a federal mandate prized by ethanol producers. -Ethanol is a major industry in the politically important state. -As Insider reported, DeSantis supported legislation in
March 13, 2023 Read Full Article
Nikki Haley Wants to Address Climate Change Not by Reducing Carbon, but Capturing It
by Maxine Joselow (Washington Post) Nikki Haley is jumping into the 2024 presidential race with a mixed climate record -- Nikki Haley, a former United Nations ambassador and governor of South Carolina, announced Tuesday she is running for president, becoming the first major Republican