Media
KUM & GO AND IOWA FARM BUREAU INVITES IOWANS TO ‘JOIN THE RIDE’ FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY
The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) today unveiled a comprehensive campaign to cast the spotlight on Iowa’s leadership role in renewable energy and its connection to Iowa agriculture. The campaign, called “Join the Ride Iowa,” was launched at the opening of a new E-85 pump at the Kum & Go in Grinnell, with Farm Bureau President Craig Lang, Iowa Governor Chet Culver, Kyle Krause, President and C.E.O. of Kum & Go and General Motors’s Mark Oberkircher.
“More and more Americans are realizing the environmental, economic and sustainable benefits of renewable fuels to help reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil,” said Lang. “But with Iowa’s strong backbone in agriculture, we offer even more to the burgeoning industry of renewable energy through our efforts in wind, biomass, biodiesel, carbon credit and more. Through this campaign, we want to educate Iowans about the important role that agriculture plays in renewable energy and how they can participate in developing that market, too.”
As part of the campaign, IFBF commissioned Orange County Choppers (OCC) from The Learning Channel’s popular “American Chopper” series to build the nation’s first renewable energy chopper which will run on E-85. The custom chopper will showcase Iowa’s role in renewable energy ranging from ethanol and livestock to soy biodiesel and wind energy.
The Iowa Farm Bureau Renewable Energy Chopper will officially be unveiled on June 24 at the Iowa Corn Indy 250 race at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. This year is the first for Indy series cars to run on 100 percent pure ethanol. The stars from “American Chopper,” the Teutul family, will help unveil the chopper.
Iowans have an opportunity to win the custom Iowa Farm Bureau Renewable Energy Chopper when it tours the state this summer, by purchasing a $10 raffle ticket at their local county Farm Bureau office or at the stops along the tour. Raffle tickets will be available beginning at the Iowa Speedway Indy Corn 250 race on June 24.
“We invite all Iowans to ‘Join the Ride’ and secure our renewable energy future in the state by asking your retailer for E-85, making your next vehicle purchase a Flex Fuel Vehicle and supporting your local livestock farmer,” said Lang. “People may not realize livestock farmers are a critical link in the renewable energy value chain and how important responsible livestock farming is in continuing to sustainably grow Iowa’s economy, statewide. We need livestock to consume the co-product of ethanol,” said Lang, a fifth-generation Brooklyn, Iowa dairy farmer.
As a partner in the campaign and supporter of E-85, Kum & Go offered $1.85 E-85 gasoline from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on May 15. They will also offer three cents off a gallon of ethanol throughout the summer with each raffle ticket purchased. “Kum & Go is partnering with ‘Join the Ride Iowa’ because we’re committed to ethanol and E-85 and the benefits it brings to this state,” said Krause. “We service more than 350,000 people nationwide and we see an incredible interest in the expansion of ethanol and E-85.” There are currently 72 gas stations across Iowa and nearly 1,200 across the nation that sell E-85.
General Motors is also a partner in the “Join the Ride Iowa” campaign and is offering Farm Bureau members discounts on Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs). “GM appreciates the efforts of the Iowa Farm Bureau and Kum & Go’s support of the ‘Join the Ride Iowa’ campaign, which will help educate consumers on the economic and environmental benefits of E-85 ethanol,” said Oberkircher. “GM has made a major commitment to vehicles that can run on E-85 ethanol with over two million of our FFVs on the road today—and plans to expand production going forward.”
|
