The Stratford Country Store LLC is one of six projects in Iowa to be awarded U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development grant money to help expand the sales and use of renewable fuels.

Stratford Country Store received a $229,500 grant to create infrastructure to expand the sales and use of renewable fuels. It is the owner of 10 or fewer fueling stations.

The Stratford project will install two E15 dispensers, one B20 dispenser, one ethanol storage tank, and one biodiesel storage tank at one fueling station in Stratford in Hamilton County. This project is expected to increase the amount of biofuel sold by 204,659 gallons per year. The purpose of this funding program is to assist owners of transportation fueling and fuel distribution facilities in activities designed to expand the sales and use of ethanol and biodiesel.

USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa Theresa Greenfield announced that USDA is awarding $3,143,693 in grant funding for the six projects in Iowa.

“By making these investments today, USDA is supporting homegrown biofuels to create new revenue streams and good-paying jobs in rural Iowa communities,” said Greenfield. “President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act legislation is a historic investment that will expand clean energy, lower costs for Iowans, and build an economy that benefits working families and small businesses.”

The Department will also make $200 million available through the new Biobased Market Access and Development Grants made possible by Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds. USDA will use previously transferred CCC funds to create the Biobased Product Market Development and Access Grant program to support innovative biobased technologies and bridge the gap between pilot-scale demonstrations and commercial viability. The funding will be available to applicants who have been accepted into the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program (Section 9003), which is administered by Rural Development. The $200 million program is being funded through the reallocation of unobligated CCC funds from 2020.