Corn Farmers Rejoice at House Vote to Overturn EPA Tailpipe Emissions Standards

Sep 24, 2024

By Lindsay Croke

On Friday, September 20, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution overturning EPA’s tailpipe emissions standard. The standard calls for an average emissions reduction of 52 percent via the manufacturing of electric vehicles. Electric vehicles will now make up two-thirds of all vehicles sold by 2032.

Such a significant decrease of liquid fuel vehicles on the road will result in a significant decrease in domestic ethanol demand, costing family farmers around one billion bushels of corn demand destruction. Such a change could throw rural economies into a tailspin, according to a study by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. IL Corn Growers Association (ICGA) remains vehemently opposed to this draconian standard.

“Corn farmers in Illinois applaud the House vote on a resolution that would overturn what ICGA calls the EPA’s de facto electric vehicle mandate. The emissions standards the EPA released in May focused only on electric vehicles as a pathway to decarbonize the U.S. transportation sector and did not consider other alternatives, like clean-burning corn-based ethanol,” says Dave Rylander, President of ICGA and farmer from Victoria, IL.

“The ethanol produced from my corn here in Illinois has a greenhouse emissions reduction of 45-50 percent below conventional petroleum fuels and it’s available to consumers now without having to overhaul our infrastructure and force Americans to buy vehicles they aren’t yet ready to buy,” he concluded.

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Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.