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All the corn Craig Brodersen raises on his farm in the scenic Loess Hills area of western Iowa ends up at a local ethanol plant.
He believes the alternative fuel not only helps his bottom line, but U.S. drivers too.
“E15 helps the consumer, it really does because you're not buying it from a foreigner – you're buying it from us,” Brodersen said. “It’s a pretty good product for the country.”
As the war with Iran has pushed gas prices higher, farm groups are once again calling on Congress to approve year-round sales of E15. The gasoline blend made with up to 15% ethanol currently cannot be sold during the summer in most states without a waiver from the federal government because of Clean Air Act restrictions during warmer months.
Many lawmakers wanted to reach a deal by Feb.15 to ensure the ethanol-based blend would be available this summer, but that didn’t happen. Then a congressional task force missed a self-imposed deadline late last month to send legislation to the U.S. House for a vote.
Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the national trade group Renewable Fuels Association said oil companies successfully lobbied to block the effort.
“It would make a bad situation worse if Congress and the administration don't get something done very quickly on E15,” Cooper said.
President Donald Trump could also issue emergency waivers allowing retailers to continue selling the blend. In January, he said he trusted Republican leaders to finalize a deal that considers the needs of farmers, consumers and refiners.
Without a fix, Cooper said that thousands of gas stations across the county would have to shut down their E15 pumps from June 1 to Sept. 15.
“That would mean that the lowest cost fuel available in the marketplace today would be removed,” Cooper said. “Consumers are again facing the highest gas prices we’ve seen in years and they’re looking for any way to save money at the pump.”
Higher gas prices
Gas prices surged about 20% after the U.S. and Israel launched large-scale attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.
AAA reported the national average for regular gas is slightly more than $3.70 a gallon – an increase of about 80 cents since last month. The average price across nine states in the Midwest is $3.33 as of March 15, according to AAA figures.
Demand also increases this time of year as more people hit the road due to better weather and spring break travel.
To try and ease the strain, the U.S. announced plans to release 172 million barrels of oil reserves.
But Cooper said drivers could save up to 50 cents a gallon by filling up with E15.
“If there was ever a time to get year-round E15 finalized and done, it's right now,” Cooper said.
An issue that crosses party lines
Cooper said he felt encouraged by a recent Senate Agriculture Committee hearing that focused on ways to boost demand for farm products.
Several agriculture organizations called for year-round E15 in their testimonies, including the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Corn Growers Association.
Lawmakers at the hearing from both political parties expressed frustration that Congress failed to act on the issue. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota and ranking member of the committee, said there is bipartisan support.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa offered a more cutting comment.
“We were there in February, until some refiners wanted to get their hands in the cookie jar,” Grassley said.
Eight Midwestern states — including Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin — didn’t wait for national year-around approval. They successfully petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency in 2024 to allow year-round sales of E15 that started last year.
Holding out hope
Even though Congress hasn’t approved year-round use of E15 fuel across the country, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said he remains optimistic that something will get done.
“There's a high level of frustration on part of the farm community that we've had this E15 legislation on the one-yard line multiple times and we cannot seem to get it across the goal line,” Naig said.
The operators of ethanol plants are also watching closely.
Siouxland Ethanol in eastern Nebraska produces about 100 million gallons of ethanol from 33 million bushels of corn each year, said President and CEO Nick Bowdish.
“We're American-made, domestically made, and all of our plants are actually sitting on fuel supplies that could be doing more work in serving the consumer," Bowdish said. "But there's an archaic fuel regulation that still to this day limits ethanol and gasoline at 10% for all motor vehicles."
For Bowdish, the conflict over E15 transcends politics — because it’s rooted in agriculture.
“It still needs a vehicle to get through both chambers and become law,” Bowdish said. “And what gets me fired up and what gets me frustrated is this nation's 500,000 corn farmers that have the most at risk and the most at stake here over the politics of the oil industry protecting its market share.”
This story was produced in partnership with Harvest Public Media, a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest and Great Plains. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.