RFA Implements Restructuring With New CEO

Cindy Zimmerman

At the Renewable Fuels Association annual membership meeting this week in Kansas City, Geoff Cooper officially became RFA’s new President and CEO and Bob Dinneen began his new role as Senior Strategic Advisor, according to the succession plan announced in July.

Cooper joined RFA in 2008 as the organization’s Director of Research and Analysis and since that time has led RFA’s regulatory activities, while also overseeing the association’s research and technical initiatives, supporting public and media relations efforts, assisting with legislative initiatives, and managing the Renewable Fuels Foundation.

As part of RFA’s restructuring, the association also announced the following additional staffing changes:

– Jessica Bennett, who joined the RFA staff in January 2018, has been promoted to lead Government Affairs, with the new title, Vice President of Government & External Affairs.
– Connor Hamburg will join RFA later this month as the new Director of Government Affairs. After working for several members of Congress, Hamburg was most recently Manager of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs for the National Corn Growers Association.
– Jackie Pohlman has been hired as RFA’s new Manager of Member Relations. Pohlman comes to the RFA from the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) at Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville, where she led client relations.

In addition, RFA elected Neil Koehler, co-founder and CEO of Pacific Ethanol, as chairman of the RFA board of directors, Jeanne McCaherty of Guardian Energy LLC as the board’s Vice Chair, and Charles Wilson of Trenton Agri Products LLC as the board Treasurer.

Koehler succeeds Mick Henderson, general manager of Commonwealth Agri-Energy LLC, as RFA chairman. He has served on the RFA Board of Directors since 1992, and received RFA’s prestigious Industry Award in 2017. Sacramento-based Pacific Ethanol operates nine biorefineries in Nebraska, Illinois, Idaho, California and Oregon with a combined operating capacity of 605 million gallons per year.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Growth Energy Introduces Unleaded 88 Website

Cindy Zimmerman

Growth Energy has announced the launch of a new consumer-facing website for Unleaded 88 fuel: Unl88.com. Unleaded 88 is the unified brand identify for E15 – a fuel blended with 15 percent ethanol – and is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for cars model year 2001 and newer.

“The website is designed to highlight the benefits of this biofuel blend in a clear, concise way to better communicate Unleaded 88’s engine smart and earth kind attributes,” said Growth Energy Vice President of Market Development Mike O’Brien. “Unifying the identity of E15 under Unleaded 88 provides a consistent and recognizable fuel brand and by the end of the 2018, consumers will be able to find Unleaded 88 labeled pumps at supporting retail locations across the nation, whether they’re filling up at a station in Minnesota or Pennsylvania.”

UNL88.com is an easy to navigate hub for consumers looking for more information on Unleaded 88 and its’ benefits. The website showcases the value Unleaded 88 provides – whether consumers are looking for a fuel that’s good for their engines, their wallets, or the environment – in a simple and straightforward way. Born out of a request from convenience store retailers for a unified brand identity for E15, Unleaded 88 has made its debut across the country and will be the consistent labeling at more than 80 percent of today’s E15 stations.

E15, Ethanol, Growth Energy

Crappie Masters National Championship Winners

Cindy Zimmerman

The winners of the 2018 Crappie Masters National Championship at Truman Lake in Clinton, MO last week were two 21-year-old Missouri natives, Matthew Rogers and Baylor Mead.

For the second consecutive year, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) sponsored the national fishing tournament, which highlights the use of 10 percent ethanol (E10) in all boat motors.

The team, Matthew Rogers and Baylor Mead, won the 2018 championship with 14 fish weighing a total of 21.19 pounds using E10 in their boat, which earned them an extra $2000 on top of their $30,000.00 top prize along with an additional $2,100.00 for the 2.11 pound big fish.

2018 Male/Female team Crappie Masters National Champions Jack and Holly Linton with RFA’s Robert White

The 2018 Crappie Masters Male/Female National Champions were the Green Machine team of Jackie and Holly Linton who eventually settled into 5th place in the tournament. The team took RFA Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White out on the water for the youth/media/sponsor fish off last week, and they are staunch supporters of ethanol and using E10 fuel in their boat. “It’s approved for all boat motors out there and all of the manufacturers are on board,” said Holly. “People use it and don’t even know they use it. But there’s a lot of misconceptions out there and we just need to let people know about that.”

In this interview, the Lintons also talk about how they got involved with Crappie Masters – even after a disastrous first outing! Interview with Crappie Masters fishing team Jack and Holly Linton


Audio, Boats, corn, crappie masters, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA, Video

President Trump Hints at Iowa Announcement

Cindy Zimmerman

During a press conference to announce the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement (USMCA) Monday, President Trump dropped hints about a big announcement to be made in Iowa soon – but the word has already been circulating since last week.

As soon as he started the press conference, Trump thanked Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) for being there, saying he would be in Iowa “very soon” and that they were doing something “very important” in the state. He also mentioned “working on some other deals” that are going to make farmers “very happy.”

Media outlets began reporting last week that Trump is planning to visit Council Bluffs on October 9 and announce a deal to allow the year-round sales of 15% ethanol (E15) during a campaign event. The announcement is also expected to include restrictions on the trading of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINS).

The National Farmers Union came out with a press release last week urging the President to follow through on his promises by allowing year-round use of E15, ahead of “an expected Trump Administration announcement on changes to the nation’s biofuel policies.”

NFU President Roger Johnson said that while an E15 waiver is a step in the right direction, “such an announcement must be accompanied by a provision that makes up for the billions of gallons of lost demand as a result of hardship waivers, as well as a commitment not to further erode demand through continued use of waivers.”

The American Petroleum Institute went into high gear on Friday as word of the potential announcement spread, holding a telephone press conference with reporters and calling the idea of allowing an E15 waiver “a flawed, anti-consumer policy.” API Downstream Group Director Frank Macchiarola also said restrictions on RINs trading would only make “the RFS’ RIN requirements even more burdensome for refiners.”

E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Biodiesel Tax Incentive Extension Gets Bipartisan Support

Cindy Zimmerman

Rep. David Young (R-IA) and Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA) led a bipartisan group of more than 40 other members of Congress from California to Connecticut who voiced their strong support for a multi-year extension of the biodiesel tax incentive in a letter to House leadership last week.

The letter notes that the biodiesel tax incentive was retroactively renewed for 2017 in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, passed in March this year. Unfortunately, the incentive was not extended to 2018 and is currently expired.

“Biodiesel and renewable diesel producers are putting investments on hold in the face of the uncertainty created by the off-again, on-again nature of tax incentive eligibility. A multi-year extension of the biodiesel and renewable diesel incentives will provide the industry the certainty it needs to continue to generate the economic and environmental public benefits,” the Congressmembers state in the letter.

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) thanked the representatives for their support.

“Right now, soybean farmers are harvesting a record crop but facing extreme uncertainty about the price they’ll receive and whether they’ll have access to markets,” said Kurt Kovarik, NBB’s Vice President of Federal Affairs. “Biodiesel adds value to every bushel of soybeans and provides a market for the growing surplus of soy oil. A multiyear extension of the biodiesel tax incentive would give farmers a welcome bit of certainty this year.

Kovarik added that a multi-year extension of the tax incentive would also allow biodiesel producers, blenders and retailers the opportunity to plan and expand the market for biodiesel.

Biodiesel, NBB

Ethanol Report on Crappie Masters Tournament

Cindy Zimmerman

The Crappie Masters Tournament Trail held its national championship this year in Clinton Missouri on Truman Lake. This is the second year that the Renewable Fuels Association has been a co-title sponsor, along with Bass Pro-Shops, for the series of fishing tournaments held in several states, but the corn growers were the first to get on board.

This edition of the Ethanol Report podcast features interviews with Robert White, RFA; Bradley Schad, Missouri Corn; Mike Vallentine and Brian Sowers, Crappie Masters; Scholarship winner Ethan Shields; RFA team Kent Williams, Arkansas, and Terry Richards, Louisiana.

Congratulations to the Young Guns team of Matthew Rogers and Baylor Mead for winning the 2018 Crappie Masters National Championship on Saturday with 21.19 pounds using 10 percent ethanol-blended fuel in their boat!

Ethanol Report on Crappie Masters Championship

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2018 RFA Crappie Masters Championship Photo Album

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

Corn and Ethanol Partner to Educate Anglers

Cindy Zimmerman

For the second year, the Renewable Fuels Association has been co-title sponsor, with Bass Pro Shops, of the Crappie Masters Tournament Trail, with the 2018 National Championship held this week in Clinton, Missouri on Truman Lake. The corn growers were actually for first to get on board to sponsor the series of fishing tournaments held in several states.

During the sponsor, youth and media tournaments on Thursday morning, RFA Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White and Missouri Corn Director of Market Development Bradley Schad got on the water to see who gets the bragging rights this year. The winner was White, but he gives Schad all the credit for seeing the potential this family fishing event provides for ethanol education. Listen to an interview with both here –
Interview with Robert White, RFA, and Bradley Schad, MO Corn

2018 RFA Crappie Masters Championship Photo Album

Audio, Boats, corn, crappie masters, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

HERO BX Acquires Iowa Biodiesel Facility

Carrie Muehling

HERO BX is the new owner of the former Clinton County Biodiesel facility in Clinton, Iowa.

Lake Erie Biofuels dba HERO BX purchased the assets of the facility from Tenaska Commodities, LLC, an affiliate of Tenaska, Inc. on Friday, September 21st. The ambitious HERO BX Founder & CEO Samuel P. “Pat” Black, III, has been eyeing strategic acquisitions across the United States and is pleased to quickly find a second facility in Iowa. HERO BX began a tolling arrangement at the Iowa Renewable Energy (IRE) facility in Washington, Iowa, in May 2018. The Clinton plant is particularly strategically located in east central Iowa, on the Illinois border, and within driving distance to the Chicago markets.

“We are bullish on biodiesel and all Iowa has to offer,” said Tim Keaveney, Executive Vice President of Business Development at HERO BX. “It is a terrific market, feedstock is plentiful, and Iowa along with neighboring state Illinois have tax incentives in place for biodiesel. It’s a very attractive geography to produce and sell biodiesel.”

This acquisition brings the production complement of HERO BX to Erie, Pennsylvania; Moundville, Alabama; South Roxana, Illinois; tolling at the IRE facility in Washington, Iowa as well as blending and distribution in North Hampton, New Hampshire.

Biodiesel

RFA Crappie Masters Team Brings in Youth Winner

Cindy Zimmerman

14-year-old Ethan Daniels (center) with his family and RFA team

For the second year in a row, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) sponsored team in the Crappie Masters National Championship helped a young angler win a $1000 scholarship. This is also the second year that RFA has been co-title sponsor of the tournament trail that helps fuel knowledge of ethanol among boaters and anglers.

Ethan Shields, 14, from Grenada, Mississippi brought in three fish with boat captains Kent Williams of Arkansas, and Terry Richards of Louisiana. His total weight of 3.26 pounds beat all of the other contenders in the youth tournament on Truman Lake, MO. It might not be a coincidence that the word ethanol starts with Ethan’s name because when asked what he learned on the water with his captains, he said, “About ethanol and that it’s a renewable resource.” But both Ethan and the RFA team said he actually already knew that!

Listen to an interview with Ethan, Kent and Terry here: Interview with Ethan Shields and RFA Crappie Masters Team

2018 RFA Crappie Masters Championship Photo Album

Audio, Boats, crappie masters, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Iowa E15 Retailers Again Promoting Pink At The Pump®

Carrie Muehling

Motorists driving through Iowa can help to prevent breast cancer by choosing E15 this October.

As part of the 3rd annual Pink at the Pump® campaign, over 50 Iowa retailers will donate three cents of every gallon of E15 sold from October 1-31 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) and The Hormel Institute, split evenly between the two organizations.

“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and choosing E15 is a simple and practical way drivers can make a difference today to help prevent this terrible disease,” said Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Managing Director Lucy Norton. “Ethanol is the cleanest source of fuel octane in the world. The more ethanol a fuel contains, the less toxic, cancer-causing chemicals are being released into our air. So not only will E15 purchases this month go toward research and support services, but choosing E15 can help prevent cancer all year long.”

NBCF focuses on providing help and inspiring hope to those affected by breast cancer through early detection, education and support services. The Hormel Institute is a global, cutting-edge research facility with a seven-decade history of making significant scientific discoveries on better ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer.

Pink at the Pump® is a joint effort between IRFA and Iowa Corn Promotion Board. For the entire month of October, participating locations will feature pink nozzle guards for E15, pink promotional t-shirts for staff, and many other pink point-of-sale materials.

E15, Iowa RFA