Corn Leader Mark Mueller: Time for White House to Push Harder for E15

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Mark Mueller is a fourth-generation farmer from northeast Iowa who has grown corn for three decades and serves in a statewide role with a national voice. Those credentials are likely the reason that he received a V.I.P. invite to an event at the White House.

But he left that event disappointed and frustrated that President Donald Trump hasn’t done more to help fellow corn growers.

“I was at the White House South Lawn last Friday,” Mueller, Iowa Corn Growers Association President, told American Farmland Owner from his farm near Waverly, Iowa. “Trump was having a big announcement, and he invited, I don't know, 700 or 800 farmers from across the country… a big announcement was promised.”

Mark Mueller bio:

• Fourth-Generation Family Farmer -- No-till corn, soybeans, alfalfa, specialty beans, forage rye, and corn for silage near Waverly, Iowa

• Iowa Corn Growers Association – President

• U.S. Grains and Bioproducts Council (USGBC) Western Hemisphere Committee – Former Chair

• Northeast Iowa Agricultural Experimental Association – Former President

White House Announcement on Agriculture

Mueller said that he arrived in Washington, D.C. expecting substance and possibly even a long-awaited decision on E15. “I thought, well, what could that big announcement be? It could be, for example, a trade deal,” Mueller said. “… or I was hoping in my heart of hearts that it would be an announcement for year-round E15.”

Instead, the announcement from President Trump focused on additional financial aid for farmers who have struggled as he enters his second year back in the White House.

“It was something less exciting,” Mueller said. “It was, ‘hey, I'm getting you another… I've gotten you $12 billion, and there might be more on the way.’”

Mueller took issue with the real source of the money in that statement from the president. “No, the taxpayer got us $12 billion, and the taxpayer may be on the way for more,” he explained.

That approach from Trump, Mueller emphasized, misses the point for many farmers who would rather see stronger markets than government payments.

“I'd rather make my money the honest way,” he said, “which is, you know, having fair and transparent markets and trade deals. That's the biggest thing agriculture needs.”

RELATED: This American Farmland Owner story looked at the potential of purple corn in the Midwest.

Year-Round E15 Sales

At the center of that vision is E15—fuel blended with 15% ethanol—which has long been viewed by corn growers as one of the most immediate ways to boost demand. While summer waivers have allowed E15 sales in recent years under both the Joe Biden administration and Trump’s first term, Mueller said those temporary fixes fall short.

“But that's not a permanent fix,” he said.

The benefits of year-round E15, in Mueller’s view, are overwhelming and bipartisan. “This is one of those things that's got so many benefits, you want to slap your head,” he said. “It would not cost the government anything. It would save the consumer billions of dollars. It would help clean up the air.”

He added that ethanol production aligns directly with the administration’s domestic manufacturing message. “If anything is made in America, it's crops that are grown in this country and then turned to fuel in this country,” Mueller said. “Here's one that's already in place.”

Yet beyond the environmental and economic arguments lies a more urgent concern: demand. U.S. corn production continues to outpace consumption, creating what Mueller describes as a widening “demand gap.”

“We keep growing more and more, but we can't eat anymore here. We can't drive anymore,” he said. “We need to find more uses for it.”

Corn Supply Exceeds Corn Consumption in United States

Without new demand, the consequences could be severe for farmers who continue to commit to corn production. “We have roughly a two-billion-bushel carryout,” Mueller noted. “What are we gonna do when there's a three-billion-bushel carryout, or a four-billion-bushel carryout? Prices will be below two dollars at that point.”

Year-round E15, he argues, could buy valuable time. “It might buy us three or four or five more years before we once again get back to building up that carryout.”

And importantly, Mueller stressed, the solution is already within reach.

Corn Leader Pushes President Trump on E15

“Our President has said, ‘get me E15 legislation on my desk, and I'll sign it,’” Mueller said. “But he needs to make a few more phone calls.”

Mueller believes Trump has the political capital to push the issue through Congress if he chooses. “All you gotta do is make a couple of phone calls, and it would happen,” he said. “We've seen how… congressional people… will do whatever he asks of them.”

The challenge, however, extends beyond the White House. Opposition from the petroleum industry, particularly smaller refiners, has slowed progress.

“They don't want to give up another five percent of the gas tank,” Mueller said. “That's the basics of it.”

Still, he questions the validity of those concerns, pointing to years of temporary waivers. “You've had E15 exemptions for summers now. How many of you have gone bankrupt in all that time? Not a one,” Mueller remarked.

On Capitol Hill, Mueller credits Iowa lawmakers for continuing to push the issue forward. But the path remains complicated.

“Ninety percent of the representatives in Congress aren't from a district that has any agriculture of any significance,” Mueller said. “So, we're in a minority to start with.”

That reality has forced advocates to move carefully, particularly given the unpredictability of the political landscape. “We're dealing with… a president who can be very… he can change his mind in an instant,” Mueller said, recounting a conversation with a lawmaker.

Despite the challenges, Mueller remains cautiously optimistic, but he is also increasingly impatient.

“Farmers need a win,” he said. “And this would be one of those… those no-brainer wins. So why can't we get it done?”

For Iowa corn growers and others across the Corn Belt, that question is becoming harder to ignore.