Ethanol Report on FPS Biofuels Buzz

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Ethanol was in the spotlight at the 2025 Farm Progress Show with USDA predicting a record corn crop that needs to find a home through increased exports and domestic demand and the Renewable Fuels Association once again had a strong presence at the show held in the heart of the Corn Belt.

This episode of The Ethanol Report podcast features some of the voices contributing to the biofuels buzz at Farm Progress Show this year. USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden starts it off by highlighting the Trump Administration’s support for ethanol and growing export demand.

RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper discusses EPA’s latest announcement on small refinery exemptions and how boosting ethanol markets can help farmers deal with a large crop and low prices. RFA Senior VP for Industry Relations and Market Development Robert White talked about helping prepare fuel retailers for E15 in California, and Director of Government Affairs Jared Mullendore showed off the flex fuel vehicles on display and shared how farmers can convert their own vehicles to run on higher ethanol blends.

Ethanol Report 8-29-25 26:57

2025 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

The Ethanol Report is a podcast about the latest news and information in the ethanol industry that has been sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association since 2008.

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ACE Dives into Ethanol Exports and Demand Drivers

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The U.S. Grains Council recently changed its name to the U.S. Grains and Bioproducts Council to include a bigger focus on exports of U.S. products such as ethanol. Speaking at the American Coalition for Ethanol conference last week in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the Council’s Multilateral Ethanol Policy Manager Linda Schmid talked about where some of their focus is right now for ethanol.

Schmid says ethanol faces hurdles in several countries that the Council is working to overcome. “In addition to tariffs and non tariff barriers, there’s something that is really problematic that we don’t talk too much about and that’s fossil fuel subsidies,” said Schmid. “So China is very difficult market, but also India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria.”

L-R: Jessica Monserrate, Ron Alverson, Thomas McKay, Linda Schmid, and Martin Baker

She says that the Council recently submitted comments to USTR on both the African Growth and Opportunity Act where we identified the tariff and non tariff barriers that are inhibiting exports to the continent and the Section 301 investigation into Brazil’s trading practices. “We are anticipating more Section 301 investigations,” said Schmid. “We expect that to be kind of the mechanism by which they try and regain market access to a lot of these foreign countries, so it is a very exciting time in Washington.”

2025 ACE - Linda Schmid, USGBC (27:48)

Following Schmid’s presentation, she joined a panel on stage to address “Advancing Ethanol From Tax Incentives to Long-Term Markets.” Moderated by Jessica Monserrate, Head of Sustainability for BASF North America, the panel included farmer and ACE board member Ron Alverson; Thomas McKay, BASF; and Martin Baker, Senior Director of Natural Climate Solutions for Anew Climate. Together they discussed opportunities to integrate ethanol into new markets such as chemical value chains, including discussion of chain-of-custody and ensuring farmer premiums and carbon intensity accountability endure.
2025 ACE - Long-Term Markets panel (48:19)

2025 ACE Conference photo album

ACE, ACE Ethanol Conference, Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, USGC

John Deere Announces B30 Biodiesel Compatibility

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This week as the 2025 Farm Progress Show kicked off in Decatur, Illinois, John Deere announced the approval of B30 biodiesel use across its entire portfolio of Tier 4 John Deere engines, including tractors, combines, and application equipment. During the show, all John Deere equipment operated in the company’s Ride and Drive area was running on B30 biodiesel.

Prior to this week’s announcement, all Tier 4 John Deere engines were approved for B20 biodiesel and RD100 renewable diesel, with all Tier 3/Stage III A and lower tier engines approved for biodiesel blends up to B100. In addition, all John Deere spark ignition turf and utility equipment is approved for E10 ethanol blend. John Deere is also exploring the use of higher ethanol blends in future engine solutions, including the development of a concept 9.0L ethanol engine that runs on E98. Customers interested in incorporating higher renewable fuel blends including B30 into their operations are encouraged to consult their fuel supplier.

As an Illinois soybean farmer and first vice president of Clean Fuels Alliance America, Rob Shaffer is pleased with the decision for both the farmer and the fuel producer. “It’s great for the American farmer because if a combine is cutting soybeans, we can take those soybeans and crush them and make oil and then turn around and put in the fuel tank,” said Shaffer, who also serves on the board of the American Soybean Association.

Shaffer says anything to increase demand for soybeans is important right now. “We need all the demand we can get, you know, without a China trade deal, whatever we can do to be domestic and lower our dependence on foreign oil, whether that ethanol going into gasoline or biodiesel going into diesel that extends the life of those oil products.”

FPS25 Interview with Rob Shaffer, Clean Fuels (5:26)

2025 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Audio, Biodiesel, biofuels, Clean Fuels Alliance, Equipment, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Farm Progress Show, John Deere

RFA on Display at Farm Progress Show

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The Renewable Fuels Association was on-site at the 2025 Farm Progress Show this week in Decatur, Illinois to talk about the latest ethanol news and moving to higher blends.

The RFA display near the media tent attracted attention with a new 2025 Chevrolet Trax flex fuel vehicle on display as well as an FFV conversion kit to discuss the ease of switching over a conventional vehicle to flex fuel.

RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper; Robert White, Senior Vice President for Industry Relations and Market Development; and Jared Mullendore, Policy Counsel and Director of Government Affairs, all were on-hand to talk with show attendees and the media.

Cooper discussed EPA’s latest announcement on small refinery exemptions and how boosting ethanol markets can help farmers deal with a large crop and low prices. White talked about bringing E15 to California, and how RFA is helping prepare fuel retailers, as well as the critical importance of legislation allowing year-round E15 sales nationwide, while Mullendore showed off the vehicles on display and shared how farmers can convert their own vehicles to run on higher ethanol blends.

FPS25 Interview with RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper (10:43)

FPS25 Interview with Robert White, RFA (6:46)

FPS25 Interview with Jared Mullendore, RFA (4:57)

2025 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Audio, E15, E85, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Farm Progress Show, Flex Fuel Vehicles, Renewable Fuels Association, RFA

Preparing for 45Z Without the Guidance

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L-R: Dana Jackson, Faith Larson, Rebecca Johnson

The good news is that the Clean Fuel Production Credit (45Z) was one of the few provisions preserved from the Inflation Reduction Act in the One Big Beautiful Bill. The bad news is, there is still no guidance from the Treasury Department and no clear answer when it might be released.

What that means for ethanol producers and farmers and what steps are needed now to position for eligibility and success was the topic of a panel at last week’s American Coalition for Ethanol conference. ACE CEO Brian Jennings moderated the panel of experts which included:
Dana Jackson, RSM US LLP, Partner, Clean Energy Incentives
Faith Larson, Mickelson & Company, VP Renewables & Legal Counsel
Rebecca Johnson, CPA, Christianson PLLP, Tax and Research Senior Manager

2025 ACE - 45Z Tax Credit panel (54:26)

Rebecca Johnson with Christianson PLLP says it is frustrating to everyone to still know so little. “There’s a lot of complexity, there’s still a lot of uncertainty and we don’t have proposed guidance from the IRS…but on top of that we have a lot of people that are getting very creative within the rules that we do know and that can lead to a lot of risk in the industry,” said Johnson during an interview after the panel.

She says the main thing producers need to do is document. “Documentation is a huge thing so make sure you’re documenting everything. If you’re not sure what you need to document make sure you are reaching out to someone to get a list of things you should document,” said Johnson. “The biggest thing is don’t wait till the last minute try to make the decisions that you can and at least have a game plan come the end of the year.”

2025 ACE - Rebecca Johnson, CPA, Christianson PLLP (4:55)

2025 ACE Conference photo album

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Biofuels on USDA Deputy Secretary’s Mind at 2025 FPS

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USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden filled in for his boss at the 2025 Farm Progress Show Tuesday, chatting on the mainstage with Mike Pearson of This Week in AgriBusiness and answering question from farm reporters on site, expressing the administration’s strong support for domestic biofuels.

“I think it’s fair to say that the second Trump administration has been the most pro-biofuels administration that we’ve had,” said Vaden. “We at USDA are very supportive of the Environmental Protection Agency and the proposed renewable volume obligations. We think those numbers are wonderful and are where they need to be and meet the current ability of America to produce biofuels. But we’re even more excited about the proposal that they have recently put out for public comment to reallocate those RINS that are being waived because of the small refinery waivers which EPA is legally required to provide.”

On the trade front, Vaden talked about the Section 301 investigation into Brazil’s trading practices and increasing export market opportunities. “When it comes to where our trade focus needs to be for agriculture, row crops and that includes biofuels are at the top of the list,” Vaden said. “This is our top ask…new markets for our row crops farmers. Corn, soybens, rice, cotton, you name it, and we are doing everything possible to break open these new markets.”

On stage and answering media questions, Vaden also discussed the USDA team and nominees, agency reorganization, modernization of funds distribution to farmers, regional USDA hubs, farm bill future, commodity prices, short term relief, meetings at FPS, staffing questions, and more.

Listen to both below:
USDA Deputy Secretary Vaden mainstage (27:18)

USDA Deputy Secretary Vaden presser (12:33)

2025 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Audio, biofuels, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFS, USDA

Ethanol Plant CO2 Can Produce Green Methanol

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Prior to the kickoff of the American Coalition for Ethanol Conference last week, CapCO2 Solutions held an open house at the AgriEnergy Innovations ethanol facility in Luverne, Minnesota to showcase a new collaboration utilizing CO2 waste to produce green methanol.

“Methanol has been around for 100 years and it’s almost all made nowadays with fossil fuel, so it’s not a net zero product. But if you can make it with CO2 from ethanol plants, it is a net zero product,” said Dr. Jeff Bonar, CapCO2 CEO, during an interview at The ACE. “The shipping industry has decided that’s their next generation fuel and it’s a key part of SAF. So lots of people want green methanol and there’s a lot of scrambling to figure out how to do that in quantity. And ethanol plants are the perfect place to do it.”

Bonar had a lot of interest in the potential during the ACE Conference, which had over 200 attendees at the meeting last week in Sioux Falls. “We have our first plan in Laverne, we have a lot of other people who want to be number two. So our goal is to have number one working and have another big group kicking the tires,” said Bonar.

2025 ACE - Cap CO2 interview (4:36)

2025 ACE Conference photo album

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ZimmComm Recognized for Ethanol Reporting

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ACE’s Katie Muckenhirn (R) presents award to Cindy Zimmerman

ZimmComm was honored to receive the media award from the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) last week at The ACE conference for our “decades of dedicated reporting on the people, policies, and progress shaping the U.S. ethanol industry.”

This means a lot to us because the ethanol industry was instrumental in our company’s success and we have been able to cover the most consequential two decades in the history of the fuel since the signing of the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2005. The first photo album in our Flickr collection is the 2005 Indy 500 where it was announced they would begin using a 10% ethanol blend the following year.

We have had the privilege of being able to cover 27 ACE events since 2008, both their annual meetings and DC Fly-ins, and the pleasure of interviewing and getting to know so many of their members. After over 20 years of traveling to cover various industry events, Chuck and I are retiring from business travel at the end of 2025 and while we will not miss the airports we will miss the friends we have met on the way.

Thanks to our ACE friends for this special honor, especially Katie Muckinhern, Brian Jennings and Ron Lamberty.

2025 ACE Conference photo album

ACE, ACE Ethanol Conference, Audio, ZimmComm

Fluid Quip Technologies Celebrates CVEC Installation

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As the American Coalition for Ethanol annual conference (The ACE) kicked off last week in Sioux Falls, Fluid Quip Technologies (FQT) announced the successful installation and startup of its DCO Technology™ system at Chippewa Valley Ethanol Co. (CVEC) in Benson, Minnesota.

“We’re happy to announce that after two months into full scale running, they’re averaging over 35% uplift on their corn oil, which is huge,” said FQT Vice President Michael Franko during an interview at The ACE Conference. “And what really excites us about this installation and all of our DCO technologies is they do a mechanical washing of the stillage and clarify thin stillage so you can run your evaps more efficiently. So there’s energy savings opportunities all at the same time while you’re getting oil.”

FQT is a leader in advanced processing and separation solutions for the biofuels industry with its DCO Technology™ for boosting corn oil recovery without the need for recurring expensive chemistry. Leveraging multi-stage stillage washing and thin stillage clarification, the system increases oil yield by optimizing oil separation at multiple points throughout production including recovering oil from backset streams. Designed as a bolt-on to existing facilities, the technology integrates seamlessly with current oil recovery equipment to deliver rapid returns and lasting value.

Franko was on a panel at the conference focused on plant-level innovations that boost operational efficiency and enhance oil recovery – “Advancing Energy Efficiency and Oil Recovery: New Strategies, New Gains” – moderated by Jamey Cline, Christianson PLLP, and joined by Chris Gerken, ICM, Inc., Principal Scientist.

Listen to that panel here:
2025 ACE - Energy Efficiency and Oil Recovery panel (45:58)

Listen to an interview with Franko here:
2025 ACE - Michael Franko, FQT (3:39)

2025 ACE Conference photo album

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Rick Schwark Honored With Merle Anderson Award

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L-R: ACE president Dave Sovereign, Merle Anderson Award winner Rick Schwark; ACE CEO Brian Jennings

The American Coalition for Ethanol presented its most prestigious award this year to Rick Schwark of Absolute Energy in St. Ansgar, Iowa.

Schwark stepped down as CEO of Absolute Energy in 2024 but remains as Chairman Board of Directors and continues to serve on the Board of Directors for not only ACE, but also the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, Iowa RFA, and U.S. Grains and Bioproducts Council.

Schwark has also been a strong proponent of aromatics cancer research being done at Hormel Institute. “Ethanol, along with its you know great fuel attributes, is non-carcinogenic and cancer is a big thing and a lot of people like people’s lives and if your family’s been affected by it you know what I’m talking about and you know the emissions reduction from and the tailpipe cleanup created by ethanol has significant carcinogenic benefits and that research that the Hormel Institute, along with the University of Minnesota, University of Illinois-Chicago, and others is proving that data out,” said Schwark.

2025 ACE - Merle Anderson Award (8:39)
2025 ACE - interview with Rick Schwark, Absolute Energy (4:13)

L-R: John Christianson (2024); Ron Alverson (2023); Rick Schwark (2025); Bob Scott (2020); Scott Parsley (2007)

The Merle Anderson Award is named after the first president and founder of ACE and is presented annually to recognize an individual who has made distinguished and significant contributions to the advancement of the U.S. ethanol industry. This year, ACE was fortunate enough to have four former Merle Anderson Award winners attend the conference.

All five gathered to pose for a photo: John Christianson, managing partner of Christianson & Associates, PLLP (2024); Ron Alverson, South Dakota farmer and carbon “guru” who helped found Dakota Ethanol (2023); Rick Schwark (2025); Bob Scott who served as the ACE Board President from 1999 to 2009 representing Poet Ethanol Products (2020); and one of ACE’s founding board members, Scott Parsley (2007).

Listen to an interview with Bob Scott below, who was president of ACE when the RFS was signed 20 years ago.

2025 ACE conference - Bob Scott, former ACE president (3:52)

2025 ACE Conference photo album

ACE, ACE Ethanol Conference, Ethanol, Ethanol News