April 11, 2014
BY Holly Jessen
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack testified about the farm bill and the rural economy, during a U.S. House of Representatives Committee hearing. As part of that, he talked about the USDA’s work to create markets for advanced biofuels.
“With the nearly $900 million in mandatory money provided in the Energy Title of the Farm Bill, we can continue these efforts to expand the biobased economy and support economic development opportunities in rural America,” he said April 3.
Rep. Collin Peterson, a ranking member of the committee, called the passage of the farm bill “almost a miracle” and said he hoped implementation would be easier. “There are several complicated programs but I have confidence that USDA and Secretary Vilsack are up to the task,” he said.
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Rep. Frank Lucas, chairman of the committee, said properly implementing the farm bill was a high priority of the committee. “I am concerned about the administration's regulatory initiatives that are often created by people who have no frame of reference for how farmers produce our nation's food supply,” he said. “We will continue to monitor progress on implementing the farm bill, as well as provide oversight of any initiatives.”
Vilsack provided eight pages of written testimony, which outline USDA work on areas ranging from research on the use of wood to meet green building standards, to helping families in rural areas buy, repair or refinance a home. On the biofuels side, Vilsack said the USDA has invested in projects to build nine advanced biofuel refineries since 2009, where feedstocks grown by farmers and landowners will be turned into non-fuel and non-feed derived biofuels. He also mentioned the six regional research centers created to develop region-appropriate advanced biobased energy technology.
An archived webcast and Vilsack’s written testimony can be accessed on the ag committee webpage.
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The U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced up to $23 million in funding to support research and development (R&D) of domestic chemicals and fuels from biomass and waste resources.
The U.S. DOE has announced its intent to issue funding to support high-impact research and development (R&D) projects in two priority areas: sustainable propane and renewable chemicals and algal system cultivation and preprocessing.
Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., in August introduced the Renewable Chemicals Act, a bill that aims to create a tax credit to support the production of biobased chemicals.
The Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium, a consortium of the U.S. DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office, has launched an effort that aims to gather community input on the development of new biomass processing facilities.
USDA on March 8 celebrated the second annual National Biobased Products Day, a celebration to raise public awareness of biobased products, their benefits and their contributions to the U.S. economy and rural communities.