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Rural America 2020
September 17, 2020

Rural America 2020 Launches Major Ad Campaign Highlighting Trump’s Broken Ethanol Promises

‘Trump’s Broken Ethanol Promise’ campaign will focus on the President’s failure to deliver on promises on ethanol and E15: Will highlight how Trump has undermined the needs of farmers by providing waivers to big oil to avoid ethanol requirements

30 billboards launch today across Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio VIEW BILLBOARDS HERE (Downloadable photo links below); Campaign will also spend six figures on digital ad buys

(Des Moines, IA) – Rural America 2020, the network of farmers and rural leaders that is working to educate and activate rural Americans on the dangers of current rural policies, announced a major new campaign focused on President Trump’s broken ethanol promises. The campaign, “Trump’s Broken Ethanol Promise,” will highlight how despite the President’s promises to boost ethanol demand he has undermined the ethanol industry and the farmers it supports by granting a record number of waivers to big oil and by failing to follow through on other commitments. The goal of this campaign is to raise awareness of the importance of ethanol to America’s corn farmers and to pressure the Administration to follow through on its commitments to American farmers.

“President Trump’s giveaways to big oil have cost corn farmers over 4 billion in lost biofuel demand,” said Minnesota farmer Jim Nichols, a member of the Minnesota Rural America 2020 steering committee. “This campaign will expose the President’s actual record of over three and a half years of broken promises to farmers who depend on ethanol to support their families. Getting the word out is even more important now that the President is trying to pull the wool over farmer’s eyes by making last minute promises with less than two months to the election. We’ve seen these promises before and we’ve seen that big oil lobbyists win out each time.”

The effort will include a nearly $300,000 digital ad campaign targeting farmers and rural residents in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. The campaign has also gone up with nearly 30 digital billboards in prominent locations across Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio over the next 30 days.

“In 2019, President Trump came to Council Bluffs and promised farmers that we’d be seeing increased demand for ethanol through year-round E15,” said Iowa farmer Doug Thompson, a member of the Iowa Rural America 2020 steering committee. “But that promise amounted to nothing since the President quadrupled the number of exemptions for big oil companies so they could get out of ethanol requirements. Today E15 can be found in less than 1% of America’s filling stations. That’s why I’m proud that today we are putting up billboards in Council Bluffs and across the Midwest that remind people that Trump broke his promise.”

Rural America 2020 is a 501(c)4 bipartisan non-profit that has built steering committees of concerned rural leaders and farmers across multiple states. Rural America 2020 helps educate and activate rural Americans on public policy issues that are impacting them, their communities and key rural industries, including agriculture. Rural America 2020 has launched ad campaigns on rural issues, including the impact of trade policy, access to rural health care and other issues in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Montana and other key rural states.

Rural America 2020 Board President Chris Gibbs, a farmer and former Ohio Republican county chair, recently released a statement on President Trump’s last ditch efforts to make new ethanol promises to voters with less than two months until the election. He also released this video that captures farmer’s frustrations over Trump’s ethanol track record.

“Corn farmers in America depend on ethanol for their livelihoods. Rather than making E15 “America’s Fuel”, Trump has consistently undercut this industry and hurt our farmers. This has to change.” said Ohio farmer and Rural America 2020 Board President Chris Gibbs.

Links to downloadable photos:

Trumps Broken Ethanol Promise: Trump Favored Big Oil Over Ethanol
https://ruralamerica2020.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/BigOilOverEthanol-1.jpg
Trumps Broken Ethanol Promise: Tell Trump: Stop Giving Waivers to Big Oil
https://ruralamerica2020.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/StopBigOilWaivers.jpg
Trumps Broken Ethanol Promise: Tell Trump to Make E15 America’s Fuel
https://ruralamerica2020.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/E15AmericasFuel-1.jpg