News - 2016 Archive

Iowans driving flex fuel vehicles received good news this week as  Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed into law a bill extending tax provisions for fuel retailers providing Iowa motorists with homegrown, renewable ethanol and biodiesel.

Senate File 2309 is an act that extends the per gallon income tax benefits for retail stations who choose to offer higher blends of ethanol (E15 and E85) and/or biodiesel (B5 and B11) to their customers at the pump through 2024. This bill passed by the legislature this session, with bipartisan support in both the Iowa House and Iowa Senate.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced last week it will make available $250,000 to match checkoff investments from the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB), Illinois Corn Marketing Board and Nebraska Corn Board for phenotyping research.  This is part of a larger $130 million research initiative announced by USDA to fund research, education, and extension projects. ICPB initiated the a phenotyping research initiative, known as Genomes to Fields, to expand our understanding of interacting effects that corn genetics and crop environments have on corn yields.

While the U.S. Environment Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement of the proposed Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) moved in a more favorable direction today, we are disappointed that the agency chose to set the 2017 number well below the statute.