Policy, Checkoff Groups Work Together to Expand Opportunities for Biofuels

Indiana’s corn and soybean policy organizations are advocating for clean fuels like corn-based ethanol and soybean-based biodiesel. This past May, the Indiana Soybean Alliance Membership & Policy Committee (M&P) and the Indiana Corn Growers Association (ICGA) hosted the High Performance, Low Carbon Liquid Fuel Summit to highlight these biofuels’ environmental benefits and economic potential. Primary sponsors of this event included Greater Indiana members the Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) and Indiana Corn Marketing Council (ICMC), as well as the American Lung Association (ALA). Other sponsors included the B20 Club of Indiana, Indiana Ethanol Producers Association, Clean Fuels Alliance America, Fuels Institute 10, Central Indiana Ethanol, Corteva Agriscience, and many more. These organizations are working to convince state and federal lawmakers to support clean fuel solutions provided by farmers.

Corn-based ethanol and soy-based biodiesel offer cleaner fuel alternatives, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality. Helena Jette, Greater Indiana Board President and Director of Biofuels for the ISA and ICMC, said that biodiesel production “creates measurable economic benefits across Indiana. As the seventh-largest producer of biodiesel in the country, increased demand has created roughly 3,200 jobs across the state and boosted soybean farmers’ income by an estimated $36 per acre. She is a part of an effort, known as the B20 Club of Indiana, that encourages large public and private fleets to commit to using B20, which is a blended fuels of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel fuel…It is a crucial component of green fleet technologies that boost the performance of diesel vehicles; and since it is produced locally from renewable resources, like sustainable soybean oil, B20 biodiesel helps support all of Indiana while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 80 percent compared to petroleum diesel.”

The policy organizations are campaigning for year-round sales of higher ethanol blends and a biodiesel fuel tax credit, aiming to promote the adoption of these clean fuels. They emphasize the importance of collaboration between stakeholders in the biofuels industry, environmental groups, and agricultural leaders to grow the biofuels industry further and continue benefiting Indiana’s economy and environment.

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