Stabenow, Thompson release outlines for 2024 Farm Bill
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.,
May 2, 2024
BY Erin Voegele
U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and House Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., on May 1 released outlines for competing versions of the 2024 Farm Bill.
The Farm Bill is a package of legislation that is normally passed every five years. It covers a wide range of programs, including crop insurance, nutrition programs and programs that support bioenergy initiatives.
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Congress most recently passed a Farm Bill package in 2018. That legislation was set to expire on Sept. 30, 2023. Lawmakers, however, extended the provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill for one year, through Sept. 30, 2024, as part of a stopgap bill approved on Nov. 14, 2024, to avoid a government shutdown. Work is currently underway to craft the 2024 Farm Bill.
The bill outline released by Stabenow is formally titled the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act. The legislative package contains more than 100 bipartisan bills and puts the 2024 Farm Bill back on track to being signed into law before the end of 2024, according to information released by Stabenow’s office.
The Energy Title of Stabenow’s Senate bill addresses a variety of programs that are important to the biofuels and bioenergy industries, including the Biobased Markets Program; the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance program (9003 loan guarantee program); the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels; the Biodiesel Fuel Education Program; the Rural Energy for America Program; the Feedstock Flexibility Program for Bioenergy Producers; the Biomass Crop Assistance Program; and the Carbon Utilization and Biogas Education Program. In addition, the bill adds definitions for lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), ultra-low-carbon bioethanol and zero-carbon bioethanol under the Energy Title. The Forestry Title of the bill also expects the Wood Innovations Grant Program and the Community Wood Facilities Grant Program.
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Specific provisions included under the Energy Title of the Senate bill include those specifying that SAF is an eligible technology for the 9003 loan guarantee program and removing the requirement for 9003 loan guarantee projects to be technologically new. The 2024 Farm Bill also introduces several program changes under the Biobased Markets Program and REAP.
The bill outline released by Thompson is less detailed but includes some information on the House’s plans for the Energy Title. A summary indicates the Energy Title of the House bill aims to increase access to energy system and efficiency updates for farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses while encouraging growth and innovation for biofuels, bioproducts and related feedstocks. According to the summary, this includes increasing access to the REAP program; provisions to streamline program delivery and enhance program integrity for programs like the BioPreferred Program and 9003 loan guarantee program; and protecting investments in higher blends infrastructure.
An outline of the Senate bill is available on the Senate Committee for Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry website, while an outline of the House bill is available on the House Agriculture Committee website.
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