February 16, 2012
BY Erin Krueger
The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry held a Farm Bill hearing on Rural Development and Energy Feb. 15. Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack opened the testimony by speaking about the importance of energy policy in the Farm Bill.
“Biofuels, biomass, wind and solar rely primarily on farm, ranch, and forest lands, the potential for renewable energy development resides predominantly in our nation’s rural regions,” Vilsack said. “Certainly, renewable energy is an important source of jobs and economic growth in rural communities across the country, while biofuels and biomass offer exciting new opportunities for entrepreneurs and, in particular, for American agricultural producers. Our nation’s future depends on out-innovating, out-investing, out-educating, and out-building our competitors in an increasingly integrated and competitive world economy.”
During his presentation, Vilsack highlighted several important achievements that have been made by Farm Bill energy programs to date, including the Biomass Crop Assistance Program. “Last year USDA awarded $54 million for farmers in 10 states to grow miscanthus, switchgrass, hybrid poplar, and camelina–energy crops that do not take away from food commodities,” Vilsack said. “USDA anticipates offering a new round of funding this spring. BCAP has the potential to enhance prosperity in rural America by providing for new sources of crop revenues and job creation in the countryside while allowing family farms and forest owners to play even a bigger role in ensuring our domestic energy security.”
He also spoke about the three loans guarantees that have been made to projects in Michigan, Florida and New Mexico to help support the development of first-of-kind advanced biofuels facilities. Applicants in four other states have also been issued conditional commitments under the program, Vilsack said.
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As committee members work to craft the next farm bill, Vilsack asked that they consider the themes of streamlining and flexibility. “This committee and Congress have provided USDA with an impressive range of authorities to provide grants and direct and guaranteed loans to communities and rural businesses,” she said. “Over the years, as the programs have been added in each successive Farm Bill, we are left with 40 programs in Rural Development, many of which have overlapping authorities and goals. I would like to work with this committee to consider how we might streamline our grant and loan authority to reduce the number of programs, but maintain the flexibility in authority to continue to serve rural communities and businesses in an effective and comprehensive way.”
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