Pink at the Pump® Campaign Kicks Off in Iowa

Cindy Zimmerman

Over 70 Iowa retailers are kicking off the 4th Annual Pink at the Pump® Campaign today to donate 3¢ of every gallon of Unleaded 88 sold during the month of October to National Breast Cancer Foundation and The Hormel Institute.

Pink at the Pump® is a joint effort between the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association and Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB).

“By choosing cleaner-burning, homegrown Unleaded 88 at the pump during October you are significantly impacting the battle against breast cancer by raising funds for research and support,” said Kelly Nieuwenhuis, ICPB Director and farmer from Primghar, Iowa. “Consumers already know that using Unleaded 88, or E15, is better for the environment, but many may not realize that using Unleaded 88 is better for your health, too! Using more ethanol reduces your exposure to harmful, cancer-causing chemicals and toxins. Through Pink at the Pump®, Iowa motorists can support cleaner-burning fuels and help combat breast cancer. It’s truly a win-win!”

For the entire month of October, participating locations will feature pink nozzle guards for Unleaded 88, pink promotional t-shirts for staff, and many other pink point-of-sale materials. Unleaded 88, or E15, is approved for use in all 2001 and newer vehicles.

E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA

Corn Growers Urge President to Uphold RFS

Cindy Zimmerman

As harvest is getting into high gear at the end of a difficult year, corn farmers are urging President Trump to follow the law and keep the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) whole.

Leaders of corn grower organizations in 23 states sent a letter to the president last week, calling on him to stop the harm caused by waivers and restore integrity to the RFS by directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to account for projected waivers beginning with the pending 2020 RFS volume rule.

The letter to the President comes on the heels of the Trump Administration’s most recent approval of 31 new RFS waivers to big oil companies. The 85 total waivers approved under the Trump Administration amount to 4.04 billion gallons, resulting in reduced corn demand due to lower ethanol blending and consumption and a rising number of ethanol producers slowing or idling production.

Read the letter.

corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA, RFS

USDA Deputy Secretary to Keynote Global Ethanol Summit

Cindy Zimmerman


USDA Deputy Secretary Steve Censky will speak at the Global Ethanol Summit (GES) in Washington, D.C., scheduled for Oct. 14-15.

The Summit, sponsored jointly by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), U.S. Grains Council (USGC), and Growth Energy, is planned to engage a broad array of global ethanol leaders about the benefits of expanding ethanol use. Censky’s comments will focus on delivering U.S. ethanol potential through collaboration and trade.

More than 300 ministerial-level officials and senior-level industry leaders, ethanol producers and refiners from more than 60 countries have been invited to attend the GES, which will feature general sessions, networking and dedicated business-to-business meetings designed to build partnerships.

The GES follows two previous regional ethanol summits – the Ethanol Summit of the Americas held in October 2017 and the Ethanol Summit of the Asia-Pacific held in May 2018. Additional funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Trade Promotion (ATP) program and other sponsors will support the expanded focus of the GES.

The GES will also feature a U.S. sales component that builds on current ethanol trade. For the last 10 years, ethanol has been the fastest-growing U.S. agricultural export, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA’s FAS).

Following the Summit, the Council and its members will organize specialized tours of U.S. ethanol production facilities and terminals for international Summit attendees.

Click here for more information.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, Growth Energy, RFA, USGC

Ethanol Report on Crappie Masters Championship

Cindy Zimmerman

2019 has been another winning year for the partnership between ethanol and crappie fishing.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is wrapping up a third year as co-title sponsor of the Crappie Masters All American Tournament Trail with the national championship in Grenada, MS, concluding September 28.

In this Ethanol Report, RFA Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White talks about how successful this family-oriented fishing event has been for promoting the use of E10 in boat engines and how it is getting even bigger.

Ethanol Report 9-27-19

Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes

Audio, Boats, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA

Farmer Leaders Call Out EPA for Biofuels Demand Destruction

Cindy Zimmerman

In the wake of new plant closures, corn and soybean farmer organization leaders held a press conference Thursday to discuss the current situation in the biofuels industry created by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) overuse of Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

Participants in the call were:
Kelly Nieuwenhuis, farmer from Primghar, Iowa and president of the board at Siouxland Energy
John Linder, farmer in Edison, Ohio, incoming first vice president of the National Corn Growers Association
Ron Heck, a soybean farmer in Perry, Iowa, Secretary of the National Biodiesel Board
Daryl Haack, a corn farmer in Primghar, Iowa, member of the board of Little Sioux Corn Processors

The four farmers were united in their call for President Trump to intervene with EPA to get them back on track and reallocate gallons lost to SREs. Listen here:

Farmer leaders biofuels presser
Audio, Biodiesel, biofuels, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Japan Deal is Good for Grains and Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S.-Japan trade agreement signed by President Donald Trump this week “will solidify our longstanding partnership for the future and create a platform for growth into new sales and new sectors, including the potential for sales of U.S. ethanol,” according to the U.S. Grains Council (USGC)

Japan is one of the largest and most loyal U.S. corn customers, having bought more than $2 billion of U.S. corn in the most recent marketing year. It is an important market for food and feed barley and sorghum. And as a country looking to improve the environmental impact of its fuel, it is an important future market for U.S. ethanol products.

USGC chairman Darren Armstrong, a farmer from North Carolina, was on a grower panel at the BASF Agricultural Solutions Media Event this week and he talked about the impact that trade negotiations have had on farmers over the past two years, but said the Japan agreement and USMCA are bright spots in the picture, and so is ethanol.

“There are so many new markets that we can move ethanol in that would really use up a lot of corn, and that’s what we’re after,” said Armstrong.

This interview with Armstrong was done the day before the Japan deal was signed, but he said they were looking forward to it because Japan has been a good customer in the past and they were hoping to increase ethanol exports under the agreement. He also talks about the potential in China and India for ethanol exports.

Interview with USGC chair and NC farmer Darren Armstrong

BASF Ag Solutions Media Event photos

Audio, BASF, corn, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, USGC

Ethanol to Benefit From Japan Trade Agreement

Cindy Zimmerman

President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Abe signed a trade deal Wednesday worth billions for U.S. agricultural producers.

Under the market access agreement, Japan will open the market to approximately $7 billion in American agricultural exports, eliminating or significantly lowering tariffs for U.S. beef, pork, poultry, wheat, cheese, wine, certain nuts and berries, cherries, ethanol, and more. “So it’s a tremendous trade deal. It’s a very big trade deal,” said President Trump.

The Japanese Parliament is expected to approve the agreement later this fall and it could be implemented as early as Jan. 1, 2020.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, Trade

RFA Corrects EPA Chief’s Comments on Ethanol Demand

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) sent a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler this week to correct “several misstatements in testimony offered recently to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology” regarding the real impacts of small refinery exemptions (SREs).

Specifically, RFA questioned the accuracy of Administrator Wheeler’s statements in answer to questioning from Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) that ethanol production and consumption is on the rise, when data from the Department of Energy and EPA itself indicate otherwise. Listen to the exchange:
EPA's Wheeler and Rep. Babin on ethanol and SREs

Wheeler told Rep. Babin, “Ethanol demand has not been impacted by the small refinery program and in fact we’ve seen an uptick in ethanol over the last two years.” RFA says, “In reality, U.S. ethanol consumption has shown a downturn—not an uptick—in the last two years. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. ethanol consumption was 14.382 billion gallonsin 2018—down from 14.485 billion gallons in 2017.”

Click to read the RFA letter.

Audio, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

RFA to Lawmakers: Thanks for Letter to EPA

Carrie Muehling

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is applauding lawmakers for support of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).

RFA thanked a bipartisan group of 25 members of the U.S. House of Representatives for asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to prospectively restore RFS volumes lost to small refinery exemptions.

In a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, the House group also asked the Agency to stop the practice of “rubber-stamping” requests for exemptions, and to update its analysis on the benefits of renewable fuels on greenhouse gas emissions, the farm economy, and transportation fuel markets.

“We appreciate Chairman Peterson and the other members of the Biofuels Caucus for their continued support of American farmers and ethanol producers, and for recognizing EPA’s legal obligation to account for the impact of refinery waivers in determining annual renewable volume obligations,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “These elected leaders understand that the Renewable Fuel Standard is an important tool for economic growth, energy security and greenhouse gas reduction. They also know that for these benefits to be enjoyed, EPA must faithfully enforce the law as written.”

Ethanol, Renewable Fuels Association, RFS

Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions With Renewable Diesel

Carrie Muehling

Renewable Energy Group (REG) is helping a North Carolina public utility to fuel part of its fleet with renewable diesel.

Thirty-four diesel vehicles in the Charlotte Water fleet began running on REG renewable diesel in May. In the first three months, they reduced greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 75 tons, which is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of an average passenger vehicle that has driven over 183,000 miles. Over the course of a year, that would calculate to 300 tons, or the equivalent of over 732,000 miles driven.

“As a public utility, we believe we have an obligation to protect the environment,” said Kathy Gibson, Fleet Manager, Charlotte Water. “Fueling diesel vehicles with 100 percent renewable diesel instead of petroleum diesel is a way to promote sustainability in the communities we serve, and the results have been very encouraging.”

The renewable diesel-fueled vehicles have also performed well, and no equipment modifications were needed for them to run on the renewable fuel.

Renewable diesel is an alternative to traditional diesel fuel that is made from renewable resources and helps users lower greenhouse gas and other emissions. Compared with ultra-low sulfur diesel, renewable diesel reduces particulate matter by nearly 40 percent, carbon monoxide by 25 percent, nitrogen oxides by 15 percent and total hydrocarbons by over 10 percent.

After six months, Charlotte Water’s pilot project will be evaluated to decide whether to continue or even expand the fleet’s use of renewable diesel.

REG, renewable diesel, Renewable Energy