Officials from the Biden administration faced over 11,000 farmers and agricultural industry representatives today at the Commodity Classic in Houston and announced that they will miss a self-imposed March 1 deadline to complete modifications to the GREET model for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). “We’re going to take a few more weeks – and I mean weeks, not months – to …
EPA Announces E15 Waiver Approval for 8 States in 2025
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday approval of requests from state governors to remove the 1-psi volatility waiver for gasoline-ethanol blends containing 10 percent ethanol in their states, but delays the effective date to April 28, 2025. “After review of the emissions modeling results presented by the governors in their requests, EPA is removing the 1-psi waiver in the following …
RFA Honors USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack
Following his remarks at the National Ethanol Conference today in San Diego, the Renewable Fuels Association presented its 2024 Industry Award to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in recognition of his many years championing renewable fuels both in Washington and at home in Iowa. In his time at USDA, Sec. Vilsack has been a strong and effective proponent of the …
Ag Secretary Calls Census Numbers “Wake Up Call”
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) on Tuesday released results of the 2022 Census of Agriculture, which includes more than 6 million data points about America’s farms and ranches and the people who operate them down to the county level. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack joined NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer and USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economic Chavonda …
Secretary Vilsack to Speak at National Ethanol Conference
The Renewable Fuels Association is proud to announce that USDA Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will speak at the 2024 National Ethanol Conference in San Diego. Sec. Vilsack will speak to nearly 1,000 conference attendees Tuesday morning, Feb. 20. “We are truly honored to have Secretary Vilsack joining us at this year’s conference, and we look forward to hearing his perspective …
Biofuels Industry Mourns Loss of Bill Northey
The tributes began pouring in as soon as the shock wore off Monday when the news broke that former Iowa Agriculture Secretary and USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey had died at the age of 64. The Agribusiness Association of Iowa (AAI) where Northey served as CEO shared the news of his passing. “The state of …
Nebraska Retailers Urged to Apply for HBIIP Grants
Nebraska is one of 22 states that recently received a portion of $19 million awarded recently by USDA under the Higher Blend Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) with 16 retail locations receiving grants. The Nebraska Ethanol Board is urging retailers across the state to take advantage of the program during the current signup period. Launched in July 2023 with a $450 …
LanzaJet Opens First Ethanol to SAF Plant
LanzaJet made history this week opening the world’s first ethanol to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production facility in Soperton, Georgia. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack joined LanzaJet at Wednesday’s event. “As we transition to SAF, this will not only create new climate smart commodity markets for American producers, but it will also help American companies such as LanzaJet corner the market …
WASDE Calls for Record Corn Production
The U.S. Department of Agriculture dropped its latest World Agricultural Supply Demand Estimate report on Friday, calling for record U.S. corn production in 2023-2024. The corn outlook also calls for more corn to be used for ethanol, increased feed and residual use, and higher ending stocks. Corn production is estimated at a record 15.3 billion bushels, up 108 million as …
USDA Announces Grants for Biofuels Infrastructure
During an address at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit Thursday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the awarding of $19 million in grants to increase the availability of domestic biofuels at gas stations in 22 states. The awards are being made through the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) with funding from Inflation Reduction Act. Some of examples of the …