(Radio Iowa) – Corn production in Iowa and the nation was on an upward trajectory last year, but industry leaders say there’s now a problem with declining market demand. A new study produced for two Iowa agri-business groups predicts that demand gap will continue to grow. Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, says an oversupply of corn will drag down prices for farmers unless something changes.

“As is usual, we’re outproducing our markets, and so, there’s really three paths forward,” Shaw says. “There’s the status quo where supply continues to go up faster than demand.” Mark Mueller, president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and a fourth-generation farmer from Waverly, says he’s worried there won’t be a fifth generation on his family’s land.

Mueller says, “The bottom line is that we have high input prices, we have low commodity prices, and we’re producing more corn all the time. We need more places to move our corn.” The Iowa Corn Growers Association is pushing Congress to allow the year-round sale of E-15 nationwide. A new study for the group finds that would close the demand gap for corn by 2031. The study predicts new markets for corn, like sustainable aviation fuel, are needed for long-term profitability.