The Environmental Protection Agency’s Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation had some breaking news at the National Ethanol Conference in Orlando Wednesday – the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Set 2 final rule has been sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). EPA’s Aaron Szabo said during his address that he expects the rule will be finalized before the …
RFA CEO Calls for Unleashing U.S. Ethanol
In a rousing address at the 2026 National Ethanol Conference this morning, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Geoff Cooper drew parallels between the ethanol industry’s untapped potential and the inspiring underdog story of college football quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Cooper likened the sector to the overlooked athlete who, given the chance, achieved extraordinary success – a metaphor for ethanol’s …
Ag Economist Stresses Importance of E15
At the recent 2026 Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau annual meeting, Washington ag consultant Jim Wiesemeyer emphasized the critical role of domestic ethanol demand — particularly year-round E15 sales — in supporting U.S. corn growers amid low commodity prices and cash flow pressures. Wiesemeyer stressed that expanding E15 could significantly boost corn consumption and help reduce burdensome carryover stocks. “If …
Handful of Refiners Holding E15 Hostage
An historic alignment of agreement between the oil and ethanol industries is being held hostage by a small number of refiners, threatening the future of nationwide, year-round E15 (15% ethanol fuel). Nebraska Ethanol Board chairman Jan tenBensel shared a graphic on social media last week calling out six refining companies by name with a combined revenue of nearly $172 billion. …
E15 Deadline Coincides with Ethanol Conference
The National Ethanol Conference is coming up February 24-26 in Orlando, coinciding this year with an important deadline facing the recently formed E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council, which has been having meetings over the past week in Washington D.C. The council is tasked with submitting a legislative proposal by February 15 with the goal of considering the bill by February …
Former Industry Leaders Warn of Farm Crisis
A bipartisan group of former leaders of America’s major agricultural commodity associations and biofuels organizations, farmer leaders, and former senior USDA officials, sent a letter to Congress this week sounding the alarm about the current state of the farm economy and the potential for “widespread collapse of American agriculture.” In a letter released today to the leadership of the House …
President Trump Backs Congress in Approach to E15
President Donald Trump told a crowd in Iowa Tuesday that he supports the Congressional leadership approach to get nationwide, year-round E15 passed into law. “I promised to support E15 all year round… I am trusting speaker Mike Johnson and Leader John Thune to find a deal that works for farmers, consumers, and refiners, including small and mid-sized refiners, to get …
Ethanol Report on E15 and NEC
To say that ethanol supporters are disappointed by the inability of Congress to include nationwide, year-round E15 in the must-pass funding bill this past week is an understatement. Corn farmers and ethanol producers are expressing outrage, disillusionment, and even betrayal after weeks of working on compromise wording for a problem the industry has been trying to get fixed for more …
Congress Devastates Supporters as it Punts on E15
Supporters of nationwide, year-round E15 were once again kicked to the curb by Congress, after weeks of negotiations between farm, ethanol, oil and refinery interests to craft wording that would have included it in the funding bill. Instead lawmakers have opted to create a new “Rural Domestic Energy Council” to develop potential legislative proposals on E15. It’s just too much …
Stakeholders Concerned E15 is Now or Never
Iowa ethanol stakeholders are sounding the alarm that if Congress fails to include E15 in the spending bill this month, it could be the last chance the industry has to make it happen for some time. “We have an opportunity in the next couple of weeks and we won’t have another opportunity probably for years,” said Iowa Renewable Fuels Association …