Statewide Iowa (RI) — President Trump is scheduled to talk about energy policy in central Iowa this afternoon and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he expects to hear about corn-based ethanol and the higher E-15 blend going year-round, coast-to-coast.
Grassley says E-15 could be a $14-billion industry for corn growers, while the federal government just spent $12 billion on the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program.
Thanks to special waivers, the 15-percent ethanol blend has been available year-round in Iowa and seven other Midwestern states, but it’s not a permanent fixture in federal law.
A funding bill that was before the U.S. House last week had the language stripped out that would have allowed for E-15 sales nationwide. That move left corn growers “disgusted, disappointed and disillusioned,” according to Jed Bower, president of the National Corn Growers Association.
Grassley is urging Trump to support the original proposal.
Bower, meanwhile, released a statement saying, “Congress is choosing to leave America’s 500,000 corn farmers behind in favor of a handful of refineries.”
For more information, visit the National Corngrowers Association’s website.
KIWA Staff Photo
