-Photo courtesy of Joclyn Bushman/Iowa Soybean Association
Iowa Soybean Association District 8 Directors Randy Miller and Warren Bachman stand in front of the team buses.

As one of the top three soybean producers in the nation, it’s only natural that some of the biggest transportation fleets in Iowa run on soy diesel.

For the 2023-2024 school year, Iowa and Midwest-raised soybeans will fuel the team buses for the Iowa State University Cyclones and the University of Iowa Hawkeyes. The sponsorship between the Iowa Soybean Association and the colleges kicked off Labor Day weekend, which coincided with the start of the college football season.

“Biodiesel continues to generate market demand for soybeans and offers the universities a reliable supply of clean-burning fuel,” said Randy Miller, District 8 director for the Iowa Soybean Association. “Reducing carbon emissions is a huge priority for universities, making biodiesel an ideal fuel product for our state’s two largest universities.”

Altogether, the Hawkeyes and Cyclones team buses will travel more than 100,000 miles during the current school year, running on soy biodiesel and prompting an uptick in soybean demand.

By increasing soybean-oil value, biodiesel supports 13 percent of the price per bushel of soybeans. This equated to $1.78 per bushel in 2022. It also lowers the price of soybean meal, a key ingredient for livestock producers and the food supply. Iowa farmers harvested an estimated 587 million bushels of soybeans in 2022.

Grant Kimberley, ISA senior director of market development and IBB executive director, noted that the joint promotion helps draw attention to the versatility of soybeans.

“Biodiesel promotions on the team buses and inside the venues on game days will grow awareness of the role soybean farmers play in improving our air quality and strengthening America’s energy security,” Kimberley said.

Not only do the Cyclones team buses run on soy biodiesel, so do vehicles and snow plows operated by the city of Ames where ISU is based.

“We use biodiesel in our road vehicles that is usually 5 percent in the colder months and 20 percent in the warmer months. For the last couple of years, we have used 100 percent biodiesel (B100) in our 11 plow trucks. This was done by installing special equipment on the trucks. The amount we use varies from year to year due to winter snow plowing, but we average around 70,000 gallons of biodiesel a year,” said Corey Mellies, fleet and facilities director for the city of Ames. “Biodiesel is important as it’s a renewable energy source while also lowering the amount of carbon we output. We have had no issues with either the regular biodiesel or B100.”

Ames uses the Iowa Department of Transportation fueling station for all of its biodiesel needs except the B100. For B100, they have a special tank at their maintenance facility, which is also used by the DOT trucks in the Ames area that have been outfitted with the special equipment needed.

Soy biodiesel also powers the tractors that pull shuttles at the Iowa State Fair. Mindy Williams, marketing director for the ISF, said the tractors that wind through the campgrounds and north parking lots run on diesel.

“That accounts for 15 percent of the total fuel usage based on a report from October 2022. The Iowa Soybean Association has sponsored the shuttles with the canopies that say soy biodiesel on them as an advertisement since 2002 and there are eight of them that run during the fair,” Williams said.

Biodiesel

Facts and Stats

• In 2020, biodiesel contributed $587 million in GDP, $254 million in household income and about 4,500 jobs in Iowa, according to an ABF Economics study.

• Biodiesel production adds 13% of the net market value to soybeans, or around $1.70 when soybean prices are $13 per bushel.

• Biodiesel reduces feed costs for livestock producers by $25 to $40 per ton, resulting from the additional production of soybean meal.

• Iowa is the largest biodiesel-producing state in the nation, with production capacity of nearly 400 million gallons annually.

Biodiesel offers better engine performance, with an energy content (BTUs) similar to No. 1 diesel and benefits, such as:

• Significantly improved lubricity, which can reduce premature engine wear and tear.

• Higher average cetane than diesel.

• Similar fuel economy, horsepower and torque.

Biodiesel is the most sustainable liquid fuel available, as it:

• Reduces lifecycle greenhouse gases by up to 86%.

• Lowers particulate matter by 47 percent in older diesel engines, reduces smog and makes our air healthier to breathe.