Kenlon Johannes

Kenlon Johannes (born March 2, 1949) is an American businessman and the former Administrator and CEO of the Kansas Soybean Commission and Association. His continued advocacy for biodiesel spans three decades, and he is credited with being the driving force behind the growth of soybean oil within the biodiesel industry, granting him the nickname “the ‘godfather’ of biodiesel.” Johannes has also served as the executive director for multiple soybean organizations.

College and early career Born in Leigh, Nebraska, Johannes earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Concordia University Nebraska in education and performed graduate studies at the University of Nebraska. Johannes then taught grade-school during a span of 4.5 years before returning to home in Nebraska to grow soybeans and corn and raise livestock on his family farm. Later that year, Johannes arranged the first commercial sale of soy diesel to exclusively fuel a 1991 Dodge truck, purchased by the Missouri Soybean Association. At the 1992 Corn Soybean Expo in Fargo, North Dakota, Johannes explained the process of transesterification and its resulting byproducts such as biodiesel, and told the group that the market for soy-diesel could top 150 million gallons in the next three years. That same year, the NSDB under Johannes' leadership, began funding pilot programs to facilitate using 20 percent biodiesel blends in ten transit agencies across the nation, including Los Angeles, California. The use of biodiesel was estimated to cut 5,400 pounds of pollution in a six-month period.

In 1995, Johannes and colleagues submitted a three-step marketing plan to the National Biodiesel Board, which helped to expand the industry and to establish the framework for creating quality standards for biodiesel production.

Since the creation of the NSDB (and subsequent organizations), soybean producers have seen a 15 percent growth of price support through biodiesel alone, In 2017, the National Biodiesel Board featured Johannes in their opening video advertisement where he reflects on the progression of biodiesel throughout the years.

In 2001, Johannes became CEO of the Kansas Soybean Association and Administrator of the Kansas Soybean Commission where he works on behalf of soybean farmers to advance markets. In written 2016 testimony to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Johannes requested that the EPA continue to raise volume number requirements of biodiesel. In September 2017, Johannes traveled to Japan as a member of the "Heartland Team" with the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) to meet with buyers of U.S. pork and beef.

Awards and honors

2008: Johannes was inducted into the Nebraska Softball Hall of Fame from his twenty-four years playing with fast-pitch teams across Nebraska. His highest yearly batting average was .537. 2009: The National Biodiesel Board presented Johannes with the National Biodiesel Board Pioneer Award in honor of his service to the biodiesel industry. 2012: The Great Plains Canola Association (GPCA) inducted Johannes into their hall of fame. Johannes served as the first executive director from 2007-2012; he was the second person to receive that recognition. 2019: Inducted into the Nebraska Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the band 'The Web of Sound.' 2020: Recipient of the 2020 American Soybean Association "Pinnacle Award" for his life-long support of promoting the "soybean industry and soy-based value-added products, including biodiesel." 2021: Honored by the National Biodiesel Board, now called Clean Fuels Alliance America, naming their Pioneer Award after him: the “Kenlon Johannes Pioneer Award”. 2021: Awarded an Admiralship in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska by Governor Pete Rickets. 2022: Received the Kansas Soybean Association’s “Friend of Soy” Award.