2018 Farm Outlook

Page 16 2018 Logan County Farm Outlook Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS Oct. 25, 2018 is only sold in 1,300 gas stations in 29 states currently. The major problems are insufficient infrastructure and seasonal restrictions by the EPA. In July 2018, President Donald Trump said in a speech to Iowa farmers that he would work to lift the E15 EPA seasonal restrictions and promised E15 sales year round. The expansion from E10 to E15 would raise the consumption of corn from 40% of the current crop to approximately 55% if E15 replaced E10 nationwide according to the USDA. The oil industry is actively fighting E15 because the expansion of ethanol would mean a reduction in the consumption of gasoline in the midst of a boom in the production of petroleum fuels in the United States. The oil industry has issued press releases and established websites listing the hazards, dangers, ecological and economic reasons not to use E15, much of which is full of innuendo, hyperbole, and outright misdirection. In addition to the opposition from the oil industry, E15 also faces another hurdle. State governments currently provide sales tax exemptions for the ethanol portion of E10 (a savings of 20%) but there is no sales tax exemption presently for E15. Any service station replacing E10 with E15 would immediately price themselves out of the market to other stations that continued to sell E10. In this time of prices impacted by global markets and trade disputes, changing the nationwide standard for gasohol from E10 to E15 would expand the market for the consumption of locally grown corn and would hopefully raise the price to establish a baseline for $4 a bushel corn in the United States. While it is fraught with uncertainties and political promises, the expansion to E15 would be a very good thing for Logan County producers. References: Wikipedia: “Ethanol fuel in the United States” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Ethanol_fuel_in_the_United_States Fox 28: “Trump promises Iowa farmers E15 all year” by Matt Hammill July 26, 2018 https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/ trump-promises-iowa-farmers-E15-all- year Iowa State Agricultural Policy Review: “USDA’s Projections for 2018” https:// www.card.iastate.edu/ag_policy_ review/article/?a=77 Genesis Communications Network: “The many reasons not to buy E15 gasoline” https://www.gcnlive.com/ JW1D/index.php/back-catalog/item/57- the-many-reasons-not-to-buy-e15- gasoline Chicago Tribune: “Mandating E15 gasoline is a bad idea” http://www. chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ letters/chi-mandating-e15-gasoline-is- a-bad-idea-20141209-story.html Illinois News Network: “Illinois farmers cheer Trump’s E15 fuel expansion plan” by Greg Bishop Oct 11, 2018 https://www.ilnews. org/news/agriculture/illinois-farmers- cheer-trump-s-e-fuel-expansion-plan/ article_e4ed9558-ccc4-11e8-b8d6- af675117a37f.html