At yesterday’s Corn Congress, Illinois corn farmers serving as delegates to the National Corn Growers Association policy session debated different policy positions and voted for their positions. Policy positions are presented through the state grassroots policy process, reviewed at the national level by committees, and then presented to the full delegate body. 

Illinois farmer Martin Barbre from Carmi presided over the policy session which lasted some three and a half hours.

One of the policy positions that was presented by Illinois farmers and approved by the delegate body read, “ Support EPA approval of corn kernel fiber ethanol as a cellulosic fuel.”

As your corn yields return to trend line or even better levels, you’ll need more markets for your corn. Finding opportunities within the Renewable Fuel Standard for corn-based ethanol is one way to help secure the ethanol market. Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not consider ethanol made from corn kernel fiber to be a cellulosic fuel. That means that this ethanol cannot be counted toward the cellulosic ethanol requirement, which further limit’s corn ethanol’s opportunities under the RFS.

Working to have EPA approve corn kernel fiber as a cellulosic fuel is a top priority of IL Corn. Corn checkoff dollars are supporting the necessary research to provide the data, and IL Corn advocates work in Washington, DC, to bring about the necessary regulatory changes.