Biodiesel availability in Iowa

March 15, 2021 | Bethany Baratta

On his farm in north central Iowa, Brent Renner would love to be using a product he ultimately helps produce — biodiesel. However, that’s not a viable option through his local cooperative. At least not yet. 

He’s hopeful, however, that his efforts in communicating the benefits of biodiesel to his fuel supplier and his peers will expand both the availability and use of higher blends of biodiesel. 

“We need to promote the product we raise,” says Renner, a fourth-generation farmer from Klemme and an Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) district director. 

He’s had conversations with his fuel supplier, who is upgrading infrastructure to accommodate biodiesel. Part of the process is also connecting farmers and suppliers with information to put them at ease with using biodiesel. With proper tank and fuel maintenance (needed today for all fuels), farmers can trust biodiesel as a reliable fuel year-round. 

Homegrown fuel 

Headquartered in Des Moines, Diamond Oil has made a commitment to supplying biodiesel to its diverse customer base. It supplies and markets biodiesel through traditional retail outlets, and its biodiesel footprint extends into high-volume end users in the agriculture, residential, industrial, racing and transportation arenas. 

The company has been serving customers since 1978 and has sold biodiesel for about 10 years. 

The decision to offer biodiesel was easy, says the company’s COO Jim Martin. 

“It was truly about how we improve diesel fuel,” Martin says. “We did it through soy; through the increased cetane, lubricating and cleanliness factors that biodiesel provides.” 

Diamond Oil sources biodiesel in Iowa, then the company provides custom blending options tailored for each customer. With its infrastructure, Diamond Oil can easily provide biodiesel blends of 20% (B20) through 98% (B98), depending on the customer’s request. 

Martin says the company appreciates the idea of being a part of the “full circle” of soybean and biodiesel production. Diamond Oil purchases the pure biodiesel made from locally grown soybean oil (and other feedstocks), then produces the biodiesel blends for farmers to use. 

“It’s truly full circle. It’s locally grown, locally produced and locally used. There are not many things we get to do that with,” Martin says. “So, it’s really about the benefits of soy in the fuel and the benefits to the state, ag industry and economy.” 

 Availability

Iowa biodiesel plants produced 351 million gallons of biodiesel in 2020, not far off the record 365 million gallons produced in 2018. And there’s plenty of room for growth given the production capacity of more than 400 million gallons at Iowa’s 11 biodiesel plants. 

But ISA has heard from several farmers who say biodiesel is hard to find in their area or that their suppliers are unwilling to carry the product. 

National Biodiesel Board CEO Donnell Rehagen has heard this concern, too. He says that other states’ low-carbon fuel standards could be demanding biodiesel due to its reduced carbon footprint, pulling biodiesel supplies out of the state. 

“We would really love to see farmers using it on their farm because they are the greatest ambassadors for this product, and it’s hard to be a really strong ambassador when you can’t or don’t use the product yourself,” Rehagen says. 

 Local demand

ISA Director of Market Development Grant Kimberley says there ought to be biodiesel available throughout the state. 

“It’s kind of like asking what came first, the chicken or the egg?” Kimberley says. “Farmers say they would use biodiesel if it was available to them, and some retailers will say they would offer it if farmers asked for it.” 

Rehagen says farmers need to ask their local retailers to provide biodiesel year-round. 

That creates champions for a product raised by Iowa’s soybean farmers. 

“I really think it boils down to being able to promote the facts, the benefits and being able to say we’re using what we produce,” Renner says. “We need to step up to the plate and take that action.”

Iowa biodiesel production 

Iowa biodiesel plants produced 351 million gallons of biodiesel in 2020, not far off the record 365 million gallons produced in 2018. And there’s plenty of room for growth given the production capacity of more than 400 million gallons at Iowa’s 11 biodiesel plants. 

This story was originally published in the March 2021 issue of the Iowa Soybean Review.

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