Legislation Paves the Way for Year-Round E15 Sales, A Win for Illinois Corn

Sep 30, 2024

The IL Corn Growers Association (IL Corn) & National Corn Growers Association applauds a bipartisan group of U.S. House members for introducing the “Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act,” which would grant consumers year-round access to higher ethanol blends.

“This legislation is critical in removing unnecessary restrictions on ethanol sales, particularly during the summer months. It’s a win for both consumers and farmers, helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower fuel prices, and provide a stable market for Illinois corn growers,” said Illinois farmer and IL Corn Growers Association President Dave Rylander.

The introduction of this legislation is particularly significant for Illinois, where nearly one-third of the corn grown is used for ethanol production. This creates a vital market for Illinois corn farmers, supporting rural economies across the state. Ensuring year-round access to E15 would strengthen this market and provide stability for growers, making it easier for them to continue investing in sustainable practices and innovation in the ethanol industry. By expanding access to ethanol blends, the legislation would also promote energy independence and environmental benefits for the entire region.

The bill lead sponsors are Reps. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL.), and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), seeks to address the limitations on selling 15% ethanol blends, commonly referred to as E15, during the summer months under current federal policy. Also co-sponsoring the bill are Reps. Mike Bost (R-IL), Robin Kelly (D-IL), Darin LaHood (R-IL), Mary Miller (R-IL) and Eric Sorenson (D-IL).

While the Clean Air Act gives the EPA authority to issue temporary waivers in cases of fuel shortages, this policy has created uncertainty for corn growers and contributed to higher fuel prices for consumers, particularly during the summer driving season.

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Video: Why Your Food Future Could be Trapped in a Seed Morgue

In a world of PowerPoint overload, Rex Bernardo stands out. No bullet points. No charts. No jargon. Just stories and photographs. At this year’s National Association for Plant Breeding conference on the Big Island of Hawaii, he stood before a room of peers — all experts in the science of seeds — and did something radical: he showed them images. He told them stories. And he asked them to remember not what they saw, but how they felt.

Bernardo, recipient of the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, has spent his career searching for the genetic treasures tucked inside what plant breeders call exotic germplasm — ancient, often wild genetic lines that hold secrets to resilience, taste, and traits we've forgotten to value.

But Bernardo didn’t always think this way.

“I worked in private industry for nearly a decade,” he recalls. “I remember one breeder saying, ‘We’re making new hybrids, but they’re basically the same genetics.’ That stuck with me. Where is the new diversity going to come from?”

For Bernardo, part of the answer lies in the world’s gene banks — vast vaults of seed samples collected from every corner of the globe. Yet, he says, many of these vaults have quietly become “seed morgues.” “Something goes in, but it never comes out,” he explains. “We need to start treating these collections like living investments, not museums of dead potential.”

That potential — and the barriers to unlocking it — are deeply personal for Bernardo. He’s wrestled with international policies that prevent access to valuable lines (like North Korean corn) and with the slow, painstaking science of transferring useful traits from wild relatives into elite lines that farmers can actually grow. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. But he’s convinced that success starts not in the lab, but in the way we communicate.

“The fact sheet model isn’t cutting it anymore,” he says. “We hand out a paper about a new variety and think that’s enough. But stories? Plants you can see and touch? That’s what stays with people.”

Bernardo practices what he preaches. At the University of Minnesota, he helped launch a student-led breeding program that’s working to adapt leafy African vegetables for the Twin Cities’ African diaspora. The goal? Culturally relevant crops that mature in Minnesota’s shorter growing season — and can be regrown year after year.

“That’s real impact,” he says. “Helping people grow food that’s meaningful to them, not just what's commercially viable.”

He’s also brewed plant breeding into something more relatable — literally. Coffee and beer have become unexpected tools in his mission to make science accessible. His undergraduate course on coffee, for instance, connects the dots between genetics, geography, and culture. “Everyone drinks coffee,” he says. “It’s a conversation starter. It’s a gateway into plant science.”

Legislation Paves the Way for Year-Round E15 Sales, A Win for Illinois Corn

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Video: Why Your Food Future Could be Trapped in a Seed Morgue

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