The state extended its tax credits for biofuel production this year, and added new credits for companies that will make high-value chemicals from the byproducts of ethanol and biodiesel production. It’s all part of extending one of Iowa’s hallmark industries, if one that still prompts debate about how best to use natural and agricultural resources. It’s a good time to take stock of how prominent the biofuels industry has become in Iowa:

• The state uses 60 percent of its corn harvest to make biofuels, the highest percentage in the nation.
• A quarter of U.S. ethanol comes from Iowa, the top producer of ethanol.
• Iowa continues to rank second in biodiesel production.