Shaw: We can’t ignore warning signs, farmers need growing markets in 2025
- Iowa Renewable Fuels Association
- Feb 4
- 2 min read
While it is easy to glance over incoming challenges, the renewable fuels industry must face those hurdles head-on and not let change deter the destination.
That was the message Feb. 4 from the 2025 Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit where Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, told the audience, “If our desired destination is ‘Fuels of Opportunity,’ then we must beware of letting anyone take the wheel who only looks in the rearview mirror.”
“What’s the solution?” Shaw asked. “Simple. Build demand. Of course, saying ‘build demand’ is easier than actually doing it. As we look at all the possible demand drivers, what can actually grind up 5 billion bushels of additional corn over the next two decades? I see one thing—renewable fuels. But they are not necessarily the renewable fuels one sees in the rearview mirror today.”
Shaw noted that new markets, export opportunities and policy changes are all things that will help build demand.
He mentioned the nearest-term demand driver, however, should be year-round E15.
“E15 is the near-term demand driver that American agriculture needs,” Shaw said. “It should create demand for 5 to 7 billion gallons of additional ethanol over the next several years. It will give consumers a chance to save 15 to 20 cents per gallon at the pump. And it will be a key part of American energy dominance.”
Further noting the importance of growing new markets for American farmers, Shaw said he believes those new markets are within reach.
“Yes, it might require doing things differently…from how we farm to sequestering carbon at our biofuels facilities.” Shaw said. “But why should change deter us? American agriculture is always changing. We either grow or we die.”
The text of Shaw’s full remarks can be found here.
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association represents the state’s liquid renewable fuels industry and works to foster its growth.
Iowa is the nation’s leader in renewable fuels production with 42 ethanol refineries capable of producing 4.7 billion gallons annually—including 34 million gallons of annual cellulosic ethanol production capacity—and 10 biodiesel facilities with the capacity to produce 416 million gallons annually.
