It’s been 15 years since E15 was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for use in most vehicles on the road today, yet it is still not available nationwide on a year-round basis.
“And you know when you think about it’s ridiculous,” said Illinois farmer and National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Kenneth Hartman Jr. at the National Ethanol Conference last week. He is hopeful Congress will be able to get legislation passed that will remedy that situation once and for all. “It’s a no cost situation in the bill. It’s good for the consumer because it’s ethanol is running 20-25% cheaper than regular gasoline. It’s good because we got plenty of corn out here right now to produce it and it’s good for the environment. We don’t understand what the problem is.”
NCGA is calling on farmers to add their signatures to a letter in support of the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act which was re-introduced in the House and Senate. “As traction continues to build on this issue, it is critical that corn growers make their voices heard, encouraging Congress to approve legislation to unlock access to E15 year-round,” Hartman said.
There will be year-round E15 in at least eight states as of April 28, thanks to final EPA approval of a waiver requested by Midwest governors. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency’s decision Friday to uphold that implementation date to provide parity for E15 and E10 in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
In this interview, Hartman also talks about farm bill prospects, and the upcoming Commodity Classic next week in Denver.
NCGA president Kenneth Hartman (5:43)