From the Field of Dreams in Dyersville to the 43 bioprocessing facilities across the state, Iowa has long been synonymous with American corn and bioethanol production. Few know the true widespread impact of U.S. agriculture like Congressman Randy Feenstra, who represents Iowa’s 4th District in the U.S. House of Representatives and sits on the House Agriculture Committee. Congressman Feenstra, who represents one of the leading congressional districts in the nation for agricultural production, has been an ardent advocate for Iowa’s corn growers and biofuel producers since elected to Congress in 2020. We recently sat down with him to learn more about his background, his priorities in Congress, and the importance of American agriculture and bioethanol in his district.
Tell our readers a bit about yourself.
I was born and raised in Hull, Iowa — a town of about 2,500 people in Northwest Iowa. It’s where I met my wife Lynette, and we raised our four kids. Before being elected to Congress, I was the head of sales at The Foreign Candy Company and worked at Iowa State Bank in Hull, overseeing the insurance division across nine branches. I also served as City Administrator of Hull, Sioux County Treasurer, and Chairman of the Iowa Senate Ways and Means Committee, during which I wrote and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed, the largest income tax reduction in state history at the time. Furthermore, I taught business and economics at my alma mater, Dordt University. In addition to earning my bachelor’s degree from Dordt, I also received my master’s degree in public administration from Iowa State University and completed my doctorate in business administration with an emphasis in healthcare administration from Northcentral University. Now, I am grateful to represent Iowa’s 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which spans Northwest, Northcentral, and Southwest Iowa.
Why are biofuels important to you, IA-04, and Iowa in general?
Every year, I travel to all 36 counties across my district at least twice, which I’ve dubbed my 36 County Tour. Whether I’m meeting with farmers and biofuel producers or main street businesses and schools, the topic of biofuels almost always comes up, and that’s not a coincidence. Roughly every other row of corn and soybeans goes to the production of bioethanol and biodiesel. In my district, that is especially true because no other congressional district produces more bioethanol and biodiesel than mine — and that’s truly a testament to the hard work, ingenuity, and innovation of our farmers and biofuel producers. Our crops are batteries that have unlimited potential to lower gas prices, grow our farm economy, and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy. It’s a message that we have to share with the nation and the world because we grow the solution to American energy independence in Iowa and across the Midwest.
In 2023, according to the Renewable Fuels Association, nearly 52,000 jobs were tied either directly or indirectly to the biofuels industry while more than $3 billion was contributed to household incomes and another $6.5 billion in economic activity was generated — all in Iowa alone. Additionally, in 2023, Iowa’s 42 bioethanol plants produced approximately 4.6 billion gallons, and our state’s 10 operating biodiesel facilities generated 350 million gallons of biodiesel. That being said, Iowa accounts for about 30% of U.S. bioethanol production and 21% of U.S. biodiesel production. Biofuels power our economy forward, create good-paying jobs, keep our rural communities strong, and bolster U.S. energy production at a time when we need to increase our energy dominance most.
Why do you think it’s important for consumers to have access to higher blends of biofuels — like E15 — at the pump?
The answer is simple. Higher blends like E15 offer our families more affordable options at the pump, generate more economic opportunities for our farmers, and lessen our reliance on foreign countries — like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia — for our nation’s growing energy demands. One way that we can immediately increase domestic demand for corn and bring prices down at the pump for consumers is by passing year-round E15 nationwide permanently. This minor amendment to federal law would not cost taxpayers a penny, but would generate incredible economic benefits for our families, farmers, bioethanol producers, and economy at large. E15 typically costs 40 cents to $1.00 less than non-bioethanol
gasolines, providing more affordable options for consumers at the pump while simultaneously increasing domestic corn demand by over two billion bushels, in turn improving farmer profitability.
We have to be bold with biofuels policy if we are going to grow our rural communities, turbocharge the farm economy, and truly advocate for American farmers and energy producers. I have been a leading voice in Congress for efforts to establish this common-sense policy fix. Year-round, nationwide E15 is a critical piece of the biofuels puzzle and there is no reason to delay its implementation. That is why your advocacy and involvement are so important — because we need farmers and producers at the grassroots level to stand up and make their voices heard. I will continue to be an outspoken champion of biofuels and year-round E15. Our economy and our country would benefit immensely from this simple policy fix.
What are your top priorities as the 119th Congress begins?
From agriculture and energy to tax and trade policy, we have our work cut out for us this Congress. Our top agenda item is extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – also known as the Trump tax cuts – before its expiration at the end of this year. This is highly consequential not just for our families and economy, but also for agriculture and energy production. If these tax cuts from 2017 are not extended, the average American would face a 22% tax increase, small business would face a top tax rate of 43.4%, families would see their child tax credit slashed in half, the standard deduction for workers would be cut by 50%, and the current estate tax – or death tax – exemption would be reduced by half. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, my colleagues and I – alongside the entire House Republican Conference – are working on a process known as budget reconciliation to extend and protect these tax cuts. This policy procedure allows us to pass legislation with simple majorities in both the House and the Senate. One caveat is that any policy proposal included must have a budgetary impact, like tax policy. This would unlock our ability to restore 100% bonus depreciation, interest deductibility, and immediate R&D expensing, which are critical for energy and agriculture investments.
Another pressing matter before Congress is the Farm Bill. I sit on the House Agriculture Committee and represent the second largest agricultural-producing congressional district in the nation, so you can imagine that I was frustrated that we could not get the Farm Bill across the finish line last year. We passed the Farm Bill out of the House Agriculture Committee in May of 2024 with bipartisan support, yet Senate Democrats refused to work with us in good faith, which forced us to pass a second one-year extension last December. Now, we have to restart the process. With a drastic decline in farm income over the past four years, exacerbated by the pressures of heightened input costs and record-high inflation, farmers have been left with thin, if not inoperable, margins. This underscores our need to strengthen crop insurance, increase reference prices for commodities like corn and soybeans, and promote trade across the globe through a five-year Farm Bill.
Another way we can provide security and expanded markets for producers is by supporting the production of biofuels and investing in the future of renewable fuels like Sustainable Aviation Fuel. I was glad that Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins recently opened funds for the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) during her first trip to Iowa so that fuel retailers can purchase and outfit their businesses with the necessary infrastructure to sell higher-blend, lower-cost fuels. This is a win for our farmers, energy producers, and families. I will continue to advocate for biofuels through policy efforts to support access to year-round E-15 and supporting the Trump administration in delivering a robust Renewable Fuel Standard.
How do we grow demand for biofuels globally?
First, we need to break down trading barriers in a thoughtful, yet direct, manner in efforts to expand global markets. It is ridiculous that Brazil has placed an 18% tariff on American ethanol while we only impose a 2.5% tariff on Brazilian ethanol. Even more absurd is that Brazil benefits from our Renewable Fuel Standard and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. If Brazil won’t allow fair access for our ethanol producers into their markets, then Brazilian producers should not gain from our markets and renewable fuels programs. It’s as simple as that. Further, we need to level the playing field with countries like India and Thailand that prevent American ethanol from being sold in their markets. There is no reason that these restrictions should exist, and eliminating these barriers is an important way that we can open new export markets for American ethanol. Additionally, we need to be aggressive with our trade strategies to find new places to sell our ethanol because we have the capacity to increase production and fuel more parts of the world. It is just a matter of willpower and negotiation.
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