Rural Voices USA: Continues six-figure ad campaign demanding E15 as gas prices hit $4 and Congress leaves town

Campaign focuses on gas price messaging as fuel costs spike past $4 and Congress leaves for two-week recess

New digital and billboard ads being launched this month

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rural Voices USA today announced a continuation of its six-figure “Stop the Stall” advertising campaign targeting congressional districts across Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, as gas prices approach $4 a gallon nationwide and Congress departs for a two-week recess without passing year-round E15 legislation.

This new six-figure phase of the campaign extends the digital advertising and billboard presence that launched in February, when Rural Voices USA ran a multi-channel pressure campaign across 10 congressional districts in five states. Since that campaign launched, the farm economy has continued to deteriorate, gas prices have surged more than a dollar in a single month, and Congress has still failed to deliver a permanent E15 solution.

New USDA data analyzed by POLITICO shows that the United States lost nearly 150,000 farms over the past five years, with small and family operations hit hardest. Chapter 12 farm bankruptcy filings, the pathway designed specifically for family farmers, increased 46 percent in 2025 alone. States targeted by the Rural Voices USA campaign are among those most affected, with Wisconsin seeing a 700 percent increase in farm bankruptcies last year.

Meanwhile, gas prices have climbed from under $3 a gallon in February to nearly $4 today. E15 is currently selling at an average of 28 cents less per gallon than regular gasoline. While the Trump administration issued a temporary emergency E15 waiver last week, it is the fifth consecutive year the administration has had to rely on emergency action rather than a permanent fix. Only Congress can make year-round E15 permanent.

The campaign is adding a new ad message, “Tired of Paying $4 Gas? Tell Congress E15 Must Pass,” alongside the three existing ad lines highlighting the farm crisis, foreign oil profits, and the economic toll on farmers.

“Gas prices have doubled in a month. Farmers are going bankrupt at a rate we haven’t seen in years. And Congress left town,” said Chris Gibbs, Board Chairman of Rural Voices USA. “The fact that the administration had to issue yet another emergency waiver proves the point. E15 works. It lowers prices for consumers and creates markets for farmers. Congress needs to stop protecting a handful of oil refiners and pass year-round E15.”

The updated campaign includes programmatic digital advertising with new gas price-focused creative across targeted congressional districts in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, along with continued digital billboard placements. The ads will rotate alongside existing messaging on the farm crisis and foreign oil refiner opposition.

Rural Voices USA polling conducted during Phase 1 of the campaign found that 71 percent of farm families said they would be more likely to support a candidate who backs year-round E15. Fifty-seven percent of all rural voters across the five states surveyed said the same.

Year-round, nationwide E15 would support over 128,000 new jobs, add $25.8 billion to the country’s GDP, and save American consumers $20.6 billion in fuel costs. Ethanol currently displaces approximately 630 million barrels of imported crude oil, reducing America’s dependence on foreign energy.

To learn more, visit ruralvoices.us/stopthestall.