After weathering the pandemic and other factors that sapped biofuel demand in 2020, Iowa ethanol and biodiesel refiners see signals for cautious optimism in 2021. 

“It’s still very tough out there, but there are things that look a little better now both in the domestic and export markets,” said Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).  

New figures from Shaw’s organization show that Iowa’s ethanol production dropped sharply to approximately 3.7 billion gallons in 2020, down from 4.2 billion gallons in 2019. That’s ...