The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association and Iowa Corn Growers Association advocated for year-round availability of 15 percent ethanol blended fuel and discussed the findings of a recently completed Corn Impact Study.
The study, conducted by the economic consultant company Decision Innovation Solutions, focused on investigating how future corn prices could return to profitable levels without farmers needing to sell land.
“In other words, how much new demand for corn would be needed and where it could come from, such as nationwide E15 [ethanol blended fuel] and tools and technologies to produce low-carbon ethanol,” a press release from the organizations said.
The study also investigated the remaining corn demand needed to continue profitability for corn producers and what steps are needed to address the demand gap.
Several speakers expressed concern over the demand gap, including Mark Mueller, a fourth-generation farmer from northeast Iowa and president of Iowa Corn, an organization that works to maximize the profitability of corn for producers and consumers.
“I’m nervous that there won’t be a fifth generation Mueller farming on my family land,” he said.
Mueller said he is facing high prices on farm products, including seeds and fertilizer, placing farmers in a “tight spot.” According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, projected corn input prices will increase three percent in 2026.
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According to the study, Iowa’s corn farms lead the nation in corn production and in productivity, with trendline yields growing 15 percent faster than U.S. average corn yields.
The study also said that without new demand, the price of corn in Iowa could be as low as $1.52 by 2050, which could result in the need for federal farm program support initiatives.
The Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act would remove a policy put in place by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the sale of 15 percent ethanol blended fuel, or E15, in the summer months.
Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, spoke about possible solutions, specifically finding a way to grow demand with ethanol-blended fuel, specifically E15. Shaw also brought attention to national legislation allowing E15 to be sold year-round.
“We need to do everything we can to get that done,” Shaw said, “Because we are at a tipping point where we don’t want the current farm income crisis to go from a small ‘c’ to a capital ‘c.’”
Dave Miller, a senior economist at Decision Innovation Solutions, presented the findings of the study and the best ways to move forward with closing the current demand gap. According to the study, corn makes up 30 percent of the gross income from sales of crops, livestock, and products in a calendar year, making it the driver of the agricultural economy in Iowa.
Miller said while E15 is not a sufficient long-term solution, it is a very powerful near term solution, and that the biggest demand changer Iowa has seen in the last 20 years has been ethanol.
“If we have E15 developed for year-round E15, and if we develop and fill the demand gap with ultra-low carbon ethanol, we can move the corn market back into profitable levels,” Miller said.
Kevin Streeter, vice president of government relations at Iowa Corn, stressed the need for an immediate market for farmers and said Iowa Corn has asked Iowa representatives in Washington, D.C., to “lay in front of the train” to get year-round E15.
“I have taken some calls from farmers. They’re in a very dark spot, and those calls have weighed upon me,” Streeter said. “We have four farmer leaders in D.C. blocking the halls of Congress saying ‘We need E15 now, we cannot wait.’”