Ethanol Blog

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Shortly after USDA released its latest crop estimates on Monday, in which the agency bumped 2025 corn production to a record 17.02 billion bushels (bb), a national biofuels group and a commodity group sounded the alarm on what that much corn in the market could mean for U.S. farmers.

The latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates places the crop at 186.5 bushels per acre (bpa), which was far above pre-report estimates.

The report prompted the Renewable Fuels Association to renew its calls for permanent, year-round E15 nationally to boost corn demand.

"Today's surprise USDA report serves as a sobering wake-up call about the state of the farm economy and underscores the need for lawmakers to take immediate action to expand markets for America's corn growers," said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper.

"The fastest and easiest way to shore up the growing supply-demand imbalance in the corn market is to permanently remove the summertime barrier on E15 sales and eliminate obsolete fuel retail infrastructure rules. These decades-old regulatory barriers are literally choking off demand and shortchanging America's farmers."

Allowing year-round E15, he said, would create new demand for more than 2 billion bushels of corn and sorghum.

"Unlocking that opportunity now would deliver much-needed economic relief to farming communities across the Heartland, while also saving consumers an estimated 10 to 30 cents per gallon at the pump," Cooper said in a statement.

The National Corn Growers Association said on Monday the surplus supply promises to keep corn prices low as farmers struggle to pay high input costs.

"We need long-term market solutions, and we need them quickly, or this is going to deepen the economic crisis in the countryside," said Ohio farmer and NCGA President Jed Bower.

"The urgency for Congress and the president to open new markets abroad and expand consumer access to ethanol just increased exponentially."

Bower said an immediate boost to demand would be the passage of legislation authorizing year-round consumer access to E15, and at no cost to consumers and without a need to invest in infrastructure.

NCGA said it continues to push the administration to "quickly broker" additional high-volume deals with other countries and finalize details on deals already announced.

"We expect the economic and financial challenges growers are already facing will only worsen with excess supply," Bower said.

Cooper and the RFA also called for several policy and regulatory changes to "help prevent a broader economic downturn" in agriculture.

Cooper called on Congress to adopt legislation permitting year-round, nationwide sales of E15 without relying on temporary emergency waivers, as well as passing the "Ethanol for America Act," which would simplify regulatory requirements related to E15 pump labeling and equipment compatibility.

"Congress and the administration should repeal antiquated 'denaturant' rules that require ethanol producers to add toxic substances to their clean, renewable fuel -- rules that complicate the production of sustainable aviation fuel and ultimately reduce corn demand by displacing ethanol with low-quality hydrocarbon additives," RFA said in a news release.

The group also called on the Trump administration to finalize the latest Renewable Fuel Standard volumes and to reallocate any exempted volumes. "While EPA's proposed RFS volumes for 2026 and 2027 would help strengthen demand for farmers, those benefits depend on ensuring that exemptions do not erode the program's integrity," RFA said.

Last week, a group of more than 70 national and state agriculture and biofuel organizations sent a letter to congressional leadership urging them to ensure year-round E15 legislation as soon as possible to strengthen agricultural markets as farmers prepare for the 2026 planting season.

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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