There’s a reason why the presidential hopefuls in Iowa don’t bash the ethanol industry. Afterall, Iowa corn producers sell massive amounts of their crop to ethanol manufacturers and recently it was announced that the state’s refineries produced more than 4 billion gallons of the corn-based fuel additive in 2015. That’s a new record according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. The group said Iowa provided nearly 27 percent of the nation’s ethanol and plants increased production enough to surpass 2014 production of 3.9 billion gallons. Iowa is the nation’s leader in renewable fuel production and has 43 ethanol refineries and a dozen biodiesel plants.
Several refineries that make ethanol from corn leaves, salks and othr plant parts also began making the fuel additive according to a report from the Associated Press. And ethanol consumption could increase in 2016 because the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a program that helps install fuel pumps to further distribute higher blends of ethanol than the typical 10 percent.
