(Radio Iowa/Brownfield Network) – U-S Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says her agency will release over half a billion dollars to expand the number of U-S retail outlets that sell E-15. Grants may be used to upgrade fuel pumps and other infrastructure so gasoline blended with a higher percentage of ethanol may be sold. “This will fund 543 projects in 29 states,” she said. “I know it has an outsized impact here in Iowa.” Rollins made the announcement Monday during a stop at an ethanol plant in Atlantic.

“At USDA, we are aggressively exploring ways to unleash American energy and incentivize homegrown biofuel production,” she said. President Trump signed an executive order on January 20th declaring a National Energy Emergency and he directed the E-P-A to consider issueing emergency waivers so E-15 may be sold year-round nationwide. Rollins spoke with reporters outside the Elite Octane plant which has processed 300 million bushels of corn since it opened in 2018.

U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins, left, and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst tour Elite Octane in Atlantic, IA. (Photo provided by Ernst staff)

“Here in the heartland, here in the very heart of America what you all stand for, what this amazing business stands for, what our farmers and ranchers stand for is how we do truly save the future of the country,” Rollins said, “and we do believe that E15 is a part of that.”

Also yesterday (Monday), during a stop in central Iowa, Rollins told reporters she’s planning another round of market disruption payments if Trump’s tariff announcement today (Tuesday) sparks a trade war. The first Trump Administration provided American farmers with 23 BILLION dollars in payments to cover trade-related losses.

(Reporting by Brent Barnett, Brownfield)