Jun 9, 2026 · 40 min · 17 segments
With the sustainable aviation fuel industry set to explode, carbon capture has thrown the corn ethanol industry a lifeline...but what does another corn ethanol boom mean for everyone else? This…
Amy WesterveltHost
Tim SahayGuest
Cory MilbyGuest
Sikowis NobissGuest
Lucas FerranteGuestDaniel LopezGuestSo we thought it made sense that we ought to have a discussion.
We ought to ask those questions.
We're hopeful for answers.
The summit was put on by a man named Bruce Rastetter, a wealthy Republican donor who made his money in agribusiness and who wanted to quiz potential presidential candidates about ag policy.
Politico, NBC, The Atlantic, and a whole bunch of local Iowa media covered it, too.
Lots of those stories referred to Bruce Rastetter as a Republican kingmaker in the state, and you could see why.
The event consisted primarily of Republican candidates being trotted out on stage, each for the same amount of time, each asked the same questions, always by Bruce Rastetter.
Nine potential candidates showed up, all Republicans.
Each got 20 minutes on stage before an audience of hundreds and a whole riser full of cameras.
They were answering sometimes wonky questions from Rastetter about farming, wind power, immigration, trade, and the big one.
Let's talk about the RFS, renewable fuels.
Next subject, the RFS.
You've been an unabashed supporter of the RFS.
Yeah.
Why?
If there was any question about the overriding viewpoint of the Iowa Ag Summit, look no further than the giant foam fingers one sponsor passed out.
They read, "Renewable fuels, number one."
At the time, Rastetter was backing former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as the Republican nominee for president.
In 2016, as it became clear that Donald Trump would be the front-runner, he joined Trump's Agricultural Advisory Committee.
There was even talk at the time of Rastetter being named Trump's Secretary of Agriculture.
He'd closed on the farm in Mato Grosso with the Franz brothers, and plans for their first Brazilian ethanol plant were underway.
So we thought it made sense that we ought to have a discussion.
We ought to ask those questions.
We're hopeful for answers.
The summit was put on by a man named Bruce Rastetter, a wealthy Republican donor who made his money in agribusiness and who wanted to quiz potential presidential candidates about ag policy.
Politico, NBC, The Atlantic, and a whole bunch of local Iowa media covered it, too.
Lots of those stories referred to Bruce Rastetter as a Republican kingmaker in the state, and you could see why.
The event consisted primarily of Republican candidates being trotted out on stage, each for the same amount of time, each asked the same questions, always by Bruce Rastetter.
Nine potential candidates showed up, all Republicans.
Each got 20 minutes on stage before an audience of hundreds and a whole riser full of cameras.
They were answering sometimes wonky questions from Rastetter about farming, wind power, immigration, trade, and the big one.
Let's talk about the RFS, renewable fuels.
Next subject, the RFS.
You've been an unabashed supporter of the RFS.
Yeah.
Why?
If there was any question about the overriding viewpoint of the Iowa Ag Summit, look no further than the giant foam fingers one sponsor passed out.
They read, "Renewable fuels, number one."
At the time, Rastetter was backing former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as the Republican nominee for president.
In 2016, as it became clear that Donald Trump would be the front-runner, he joined Trump's Agricultural Advisory Committee.
There was even talk at the time of Rastetter being named Trump's Secretary of Agriculture.
He'd closed on the farm in Mato Grosso with the Franz brothers, and plans for their first Brazilian ethanol plant were underway.
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