The Iowa Corn Growers Association is applauding a recent announcement from President Biden that his administration is removing summertime barriers for E15.
Iowa Corn President Lance Lillibridge tells IARN affiliate KMA that the administration?s emergency waiver for E15 sales creates a prime opportunity for corn farmers to make the most of their yields.
“Earlier this year we put out a request that the President not call other countries to solve the energy issue that we have here, but to call on the farmer, the American Farmer, to solve that problem,” said Lillibridge. “And he did just that, and we’re going to do just that — solve the problem.”
The USDA estimates the country will have a nearly 1.4 billion corn bushel carry over.
“Being able to grind a few more bushels of corn is great, that’s what we want to be able to do instead of having that corn sitting in a pile and being able to put it in a tank, that solves a lot of problems,” said Lillibridge. “That means a lot to the farmer and it means a lot to the ethanol industry, and the consumer’s the big winner here.”
Lillibridge hopes the waiver, which is in effect for 2022, will open the door for other more permanent solutions for the year-round sales of E-15 or higher fuels, including the Next Generation Fuels Act, introduced by Illinois Democratic Congresswoman Cheri Bustos.
“With that particular bill, that would allow us to step into higher blends of ethanol and encourage auto manufacturers to building engines that are high-octane, low-carbon engines,” said Lillibridge. “What that would mean to the consumer is a more efficient engine, we’d have a more efficient fuel and less carbon going into our atmosphere, and that fuel is less expensive. So, it would be another huge win for the consumer.”
The Trump Administration had already allowed year-round E15 sales in 2019 before a federal appeals court struck down the rule in 2021.
