Fact Check: Chris Jones Out of Step with Iowa, Democrats, and Reality

October 2, 2026

During Debate with Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig, Candidate Chris Jones Showed Shocking

Lack of Knowledge on Basic Agriculture and Ethanol Facts

WEST DES MOINES, IA – During a taping of Iowa Public Television’s Iowa Press show featuring Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, challenger Chris Jones took positions attacking Iowa farmers and ethanol production that set him apart from mainstream Iowa views, other leading Democratic candidates, and reality itself.

“It’s pretty obvious that Iowa City-based Chris Jones doesn’t know which end of the cow to put the corn in,” stated Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw. “We can all disagree on some things, but this guy is completely out of touch with rural Iowa, Iowa Democratic leaders, and basic ag facts. While criticizing Iowa’s hard-working farmers, he fails to ever lay out a viable alternate path forward. Iowa’s future deserves better.”

An IRFA fact check of candidate Jone’s erroneous statements is below.

Jones: “[Ethanol is] directly responsible for a lot of this water pollution.”

Fact: Growing corn in Iowa predates modern ethanol production by 150 years. However, due to the demand for low-carbon ethanol, ethanol plants are increasingly sourcing low-carbon corn. The same practices that qualify for the federal low-carbon tax credit known as 45Z are the practices that help improve water quality: no/reduced till, cover crops, and nutrient management practices.[1] Instead of hurting water quality, ethanol and 45Z are poised to be the single biggest clean water program in US history.

Jones: “I would suggest that it [ethanol] just has not been good for Iowans in general.”

Fact: Candidate Jones is out of step with the vast majority of Iowans. Polls routinely show that 85% of Iowans view ethanol production as important to the state’s economy.[2] Economic studies show ethanol production drives over $5 billion of Iowa GDP, over $2 billion of household income, and powers nearly 30,000 jobs throughout the state economy.[3]

Jones: “[Ethanol] has provided a security blanket for farmers.”

Fact: The opportunity for a farmer to sell their corn for more than the cost of production is not a “security blanket,” it’s a viable market. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, farmers routinely relied on government payments to keep their family farms intact. During the first two decades of this century, corn farmers were usually able to farm for the market, not a government program, largely due to the growth in ethanol demand.[4]

Higher corn prices from ethanol demand increased farm income and created generational wealth opportunities in rural Iowa. A recent study found that farmland values rose 44% due to the ethanol boom of the last two decades.[5] That equity has created meaningful economic opportunities in rural communities.

Jones: “We know this, that the demand for liquid fuels in the United States is going to decline, along with that, the demand for ethanol is going to decline.”

Fact: Ethanol demand is poised to grow dramatically over the next thirty years even if on-road liquid fuel use declines. First, adoption of E15 is hitting record levels thanks to bipartisan support for consumer access in Iowa.[6] Nationwide, E15 represents a potential market of nearly 7 billion gallons.[7] Emerging markets for ethanol, like marine fuels[8] and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)[9] should drive demand for tens of billions of additional gallons of ethanol, dwarfing current on-road use.

In fact, increasing ethanol demand is the best opportunity to maintain and enhance rural prosperity over the next 30 years.[10]

Jones: “Well, the question is here for me, has corn and soy and ethanol brought prosperity to rural Iowa? It has not. Every indication is that it has not. In many parts of rural Iowa, it’s almost destroyed the society there.”

Fact: This statement is utterly divorced from reality. The growth in ethanol production was a boon for the communities where they are located specifically and the rural economy in general, providing good-paying direct jobs and supporting businesses of all kinds.[11] With the US E10 market saturated, the key isn’t to turn your back on the best news in agriculture this century, but to support new markets like E15, marine fuels, and SAF. Instead of making silly comments from an ivory tower in Iowa City, either show us the mayor or local economic development volunteer who says the nearby ethanol plant hurt their community or stop talking.

Jones: “[Ethanol] It’s a dead end economically. It’s a dead end environmentally. It’s a dead end politically.”

Fact: We’ve addressed the first two inaccurate statements above. As for politically, ethanol maintains strong bipartisan support because of the wide array of benefits it brings: boosting corn prices, enhancing energy security, lowering tailpipe and carbon emissions, powering jobs, and – now – incentivizing clean water ag practices.

A bill to remove barriers to year-round E15 passed the U.S. House with bipartisan support this summer (122 Republicans and 95 Democrats supported).[12] In Iowa, the groundbreaking Governor’s Biofuels Bill was passed with strong bipartisan support (passed 123 to 16 – both chambers combined).[13]

All leading Iowa Democratic candidates support ethanol, except for Chris Jones.

Iowa Gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand: “You started this by saying you want to pitch me on ethanol. I’d reframe that in your mind, for where it comes to me personally, because when I hear people talking negative about agriculture in Iowa or about ethanol, one of the first things I remind them of is: well, you (ethanol) support Iowa public schools. You want to have well-funded public schools? Okay, well, right now, today in the state of Iowa, we’re going to want agriculture and ethanol to be doing well because we want to have roads and bridges that work. We want to have public schools that are paying teachers well and getting our kids educated. We want to have good public safety. And we can have conversations around, like you’re talking about, the ways we can find to make it work better.”[14]

US Senate candidate Josh Turek: “Out here discussing ways and policies, federally, that we can actually have an expansion and support of renewable energy, renewable fuels. Iowa has, by far, the most to gain or lose with these federal fuel standards. We need to have year-round E15. We need to make sure Iowa is leading the way on sustainable aviation fuel, marine fuels. And that’s exactly what you’ll get from me in the United States Senate. Someone that is always fighting for Iowa and Iowans first, and fighting for renewable fuels, renewable energies, and our ethanol industry here in Iowa.”[15]

US House candidate Christina Bohannan: “I think that we need to get E15 in that bill [Farm Bill] year-round.”[16]

US House candidate Lindsay James: “I support year-round E15.”[17]

US House candidate Trone Garriott: “In Congress, I’ll support investments in clean energy like wind, solar, and biofuels—which already power thousands of Iowa jobs—and I’ll work with farmers to promote sustainable practices that keep our soil healthy and our water safe.”[18]

US House candidate Dave Dawson: “We could also pass a long-term Farm Bill that included E15 year-round that would help supplement our farm markets for corn and making sure we have better homegrown fuels.”[19]

The facts are clear: Chris Jones is out of touch with agriculture, out of touch with Iowans, and even out of touch with Democrats.

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The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association represents the state’s liquid renewable fuels industry and works to foster its growth. Iowa is the nation’s leader in renewable fuels production with 42 ethanol refineries capable of producing over 5 billion gallons annually – including 34 million gallons of annual cellulosic ethanol production capacity – and 8 biodiesel facilities with the capacity to produce 408 million gallons annually. For more information, visit the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association website at: www.IowaRFA.org.

[1] https://www.usda.gov/usda-fdcic

[2] https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/iowa-poll/2021/09/24/giant-majority-say-ethanol-important-state-economy-iowa-poll/5818848001/

[3] https://iowarfa.org/economiccontribution/

[4] https://ethanolrfa.org/media-and-news/category/blog/article/2013/05/ethanol-corn-prices-government-payments-and-the-real-reason-meat-groups-oppose-the-rfs

[5] https://www.sdstate.edu/news/2026/05/how-did-ethanol-boom-2000s-impact-farm-values-midwest

[6] https://iowarfa.org/2026/10/new-monthly-record-e15-sales-keep-climbing-in-iowa/

[7] https://ncga.com/stay-informed/media/the-corn-economy/article/2025/10/the-case-for-e15-boosting-demand-for-american-corn

[8] https://growthenergy.org/2026/09/28/marine-fuel-nlr-report/

[9] https://iowarfa.org/2024/01/sustainable-aviation-fuel-study-finds-midwest-economy-would-be-taken-to-new-heights/

[10] https://iowarfa.org/ethanol-center/ethanol-facts/the-demand-gap-for-corn/

[11] https://www.reuters.com/article/world/us/ethanol-boom-fuels-prosperity-in-rural-america-idUSL15767794/

[12] https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2026/05/13/e15-vote-gas-gasoline-us-house-bill-passes/90060892007/