The Iowa Corn Promotion Board has had its own set of challenges due to COVID-19, according to one of its directors and a Menlo farmer.

District Seven Director Ralph Lents says usually during this time of year he would be preparing to travel to Washington, D.C. to lobby to Congress on behalf of corn producers, but he says this year he will be doing so through Zoom video conferencing. He says one of their continued efforts they’re pushing is getting E15 pumps at all U.S. gas stations, and protesting the Environmental Protection Agency’s final renewable fuel standard rule released last December that doesn’t include language that President Donald Trump allegedly agreed to in meetings with Iowa’s governor, congressional representatives, and industry officials, which Lents has previously referred to Raccoon Valley Radio as a slap in the face for farmers.

Lents says he and the Iowa Corn Growers Association are grateful for Governor Kim Reynolds’ allocation of an additional $7 million of the Iowa federal CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act to fund Iowa’s Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program. Lents says this is welcomed news, as ethanol has taken a dive in demand due to the pandemic.