2019 Spring Farm Outlook

2019 Logan County Farm Outlook Magazine Lincoln Daily News March 21, 2019 Page 15 This seasonal restriction prevented the expansion of E15. Service station owners stayed with the old standard E10 rather than spending significant money to expand for a fuel that was only used for eight months a year. E15 was shelved except in a few markets, and 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. There is currently one service station in the state of Illinois selling E15 in the city of Rochelle. If there are no serious political or legal challenges to the published rule change, year-long selling of E15 will be possible and removes the marketing restriction that has hindered the adoption of E15 as the gasoline biofuel standard. But further financial incentives may be necessary to move a market which is decade-long entrenched in the use of E10, as well as encouraging consumers to desire the new product despite a barrage of propaganda being circulated damaging E15’s reputation. Even with no further impediments, the move to E15 will take time. References: EPA Publishes Year-Round E15 Rule Wikipedia: “Ethanol fuel in the United States” Fox 28: “Trump promises Iowa farmers E15 all year” by Matt Hammill July 26, 2018 Iowa State Agricultural Policy Review: “USDA’s Projections for 2018” Genesis Communications Network: “The many reasons not to buy E15 gasoline” Chicago Tribune: “Mandating E15 gasoline is a bad idea” Illinois News Network: “Illinois farmers cheer Trump’s E15 fuel expansion plan” by Greg Bishop Oct 11, 2018