Biofuels good for environment, Iowa

Iowa is the nation's top producer of homegrown biofuels, and those of us who work in the industry are proud to support clean air, affordable energy, and more prosperous communities in rural America. My plant is one of seven state-of-the-art facilities in Iowa where POET transforms energy-rich crops into high-value, low-carbon ethanol. POET also produces cellulosic ethanol from farm waste at Project Liberty in Emmetsburg. The value we add to Iowa crops allows more family farms to succeed at a time when traditional agriculture has been under siege.

With the 2020 caucuses coming up fast, a handful of special interests have been attacking Iowa's ethanol industry, hoping to convince visiting politicians that corn farming is a threat to unplowed grasslands. To make their point, they seem to be relying on a very old, very inaccurate set of talking points that originated with the oil industry.

The truth is harvests are up, thanks to increasingly efficient farm practices. And cropland devoted to agriculture - and corn specifically - has fallen since 2007, when Congress last boosted the Renewable Fuel Standard. In fact, U.S. Department of Agriculture data also shows ethanol's climate benefits have risen to 43 percent or more, compared to petroleum, thanks to sustainable farming and innovative companies like POET.

Iowa is the epicenter of a truly green energy future for America. Don't let oil companies derail that progress by spreading misinformation about farming through front groups that only pretend to care about our future.

Daron Wilson

President, Iowa Ethanol Producers Association

Emmetsburg