Presidential candidates cater to Iowa ethanol industry at annual conference

DES MOINES — Republican presidential candidates flexed their support for biofuels and Iowa’s ethanol producers at an industry conference on Thursday, promising to strengthen the industry and ensure its continued success.

While the candidates have spent much of the last year railing against President Joe Biden’s focus on climate action, they shared the stage with speakers at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit that put a key focus on the need to lower carbon emissions in ethanol production and, at times, praised carbon sequestration policies passed under Biden.

RFS, China

In her remarks that mostly focused on general policy on the border and the economy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley took shots at her primary opponent Ron DeSantis for his past support for repealing the Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires oil refineries to blend biofuels into gasoline.

“Ron DeSantis just came here and spoke to you. Did he tell you that he authored legislation to ban the Renewable Fuel Standard?” she said. “Did he tell you that he co-sponsored five different bills to ban the renewable fuel standard? Did he tell you he called out Trump and told him to stop offshore drilling in federal waters?”

While in Congress, DeSantis sponsored legislation to repeal the standard, but he has since said he supports keeping it in place.

Haley also suggested agriculture would benefit from steering trade away from China and toward countries like India and Japan. She has cast China as one of the top foes to American agriculture and called for banning American land sales to Chinese entities.

“Y’all already see now, when China buys something, they place an order and then they cancel the order, and then they wait and buy it at cheaper prices,” she said. “That's what China does. We need to start working with friends where you don't have to worry about things like that.”

E15 year-round

DeSantis, the governor of Florida, told the crowd he favored an “all of the above” strategy for producing domestic energy, including biofuels. He said he would favor allowing the sale of E15 year-round and push for the production of higher ethanol blends.

“We’ve been able to go talk with a lot of people, what could be helpful to be able to take the industry to the next level, and I have checked all the boxes they were looking for,” he said.

DeSantis has been endorsed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, and he said he would look to her to craft his agriculture and biofuels policy if he is elected president. DeSantis has said Reynolds is in consideration for his vice presidential pick.

Grew up on a farm

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told the conference attendees that he is the only candidate running for president who grew up on a farm, giving him a key insight into the needs of agriculture and biofuels producers.

He said Congress should pass the farm bill and include an energy section in the large agriculture package. The bill, reauthorized every five years, was set to expire last year but received a temporary extension.

Hutchinson said he would sign an executive order as president to allow the year-round sale of E15.

“I want to support your industry, you’ll have an advocate for your industry as president of the United States,” he said.

Industry grades

Haley and DeSantis have both received passing grades from Biofuels Vision 2024, a project of Iowa renewable fuels and corn growers’ trade groups.

The group asks candidates to support its eight key policy priorities, which includes allowing the year-round sale of E15, preserving ethanol tax credits and opposing electric vehicle mandates.

Former President Donald Trump, who leads the field in polling, was not at the conference and has not committed to each of the group's policy goals.

Wilson Hedderich, a partner with Biofuels Vision 2024, said the policy agenda is an effort to hold presidential candidates accountable on their promises.

“I think it's very important to make sure that any presidential candidates put on the record of what they say in Iowa counts,” he said. “You can't just pay us lip service and then forget about us.”

Joe Jobe, a Missouri resident and the CEO of the Sustainable Advanced Biofuels Refiners, said protecting the Renewable Fuel Standard and keeping carbon sequestration tax credits intact are top priorities for biofuel producers when considering presidential candidates.

He said he was concerned about comments Haley and DeSantis made during a debate in Des Moines hosted by CNN this week that he saw as advocating for rolling back carbon policies that he sees as “the apex policy driving energy policy.”

During the debate, DeSantis said he would revoke “Biden’s Green New Deal,” while Haley said she would “roll back all of Biden’s green subsidies.”

“Those are concerning things when you want to talk about rolling back various carbon initiatives,” he said. “So that's something to keep an eye on.”

Vilsack response

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U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack offered an alternative to the Republican pitches, touting the policies of Democratic President Joe Biden that he says are increasing competition for small farmers, advancing the profitability of biofuels and making farmers a part of decarbonization efforts.

Vilsack, the former Democratic governor of Iowa, received the group’s “Lifetime Champion of Renewable Fuels” award during the conference Thursday.

He said he has worked to maximize the volume of ethanol that gets blended into gasoline and worked with U.S. trade officials to export American ethanol to other countries.

Vilsack also said the demand for sustainable aviation fuel could be a boon to Iowa corn and soybean farmers if the government regulations and production systems align. He said he had worked on policies to allow Iowa agriculture to contribute to sustainable aviation fuel.

“The real opportunity in the future to enhance and expand this industry lies in expanding the utilization of renewable fuels in transportation beyond cars and trucks,” he said. “And that gets us to a discussion of sustainable aviation fuel.”

Comments: cmccullough@qctimes.com