(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds and the governors of Nebraska and Missouri have signed off on a letter that urges that E-P-A to increase the federal requirement for biodiesel production. The three Midwest governors say diesel fuel supplies remain at low levels and farmers and truckers are dealing with stubbornly high prices. A year ago, the average price for a gallon of diesel hit an all time high of just over five dollars a gallon in Iowa. It’s fallen to about 3-72 a gallon today according to triple A.

The governors say in their letter that soybean-based biodiesel and biomass-based diesel — made with other plant materials — supports the rural economy and expands the fuel supply. The governors of Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri are urging the E-P-A to substantially increase the biodiesel production volume for 2023, 2024 and 2025 under the Renewable Fuels Standard — but so do without reducing ethanol production requirements.

There’s a June deadline for establishing the latest round of E-P-A rules on renewable fuel blending requirements for oil refineries.