The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) announced that production in 2020 fell by 12 percent or 500 million gallons compared to 2019.  The fall was attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic that reduced demand for vehicle fuel.  In 2020, Iowa produced 3.7 billion gallons of ethanol compared to the 2018 record of 4.35 billion gallons.

The IRFA Executive Director, Monte Shaw stated, "there are steps that our leaders can take today to begin to heal the demand destruction done to Iowa's ethanol producers".  He added, "President Biden can instruct his EPA to properly enforce the RFS as Congress intended".

Shaw noted, "we are seeing aggressive attempts on both coasts to ignore signs and push low carbon and biofuels out of the picture in favor of electric vehicle mandates".  In some respect, Shaw may have a point as electric generation using coal to power electric vehicles is detrimental to the environment.  Greater use of renewables and natural gas are less polluting than coal and electric vehicles are more environmentally friendly than gasoline or diesel power.

The plight of the renewable fuel industry emphasizes the artificial nature of converting food to fuel.  The industry would not exist were it not for mandates developed at a time when reliance on foreign and sometimes hostile nations for energy dictated self-sufficiency.  Given advances in extraction of gas and oil, advances in renewable energy from solar and wind generation and retention of nuclear power, the need for ethanol has passed.  The renewable food standard is effectively a tax on all who eat and drive.