Agricultural News
Novozymes Reacts to House Farm Bill: 'Funded Energy Policy is Better'
Thu, 16 May 2013 10:32:52 CDT
In response to the House Agriculture Committee's approval of the 2013 Farm Bill, Novozymes, a producer of enzymes that turn biomass into biofuels, expressed a need to fully fund the energy programs. The committee excluded mandatory funding from the House version of the bill.
"Stable farm and energy policy is good for America: it creates jobs, supports our farmers and encourages private investment. Funded farm and energy policy is better: it puts those benefits into action. On that score, we're concerned the House bill missed the mark," Adam Monroe, Americas Regional President of Novozymes, said. "While we appreciate the House Agriculture Committee reauthorizing the biomass programs, we urge them to follow the Senate committee's lead and support a strong, fully-funded energy title." During committee action, Congressman Walz and several of his co-sponsors offered an amendment that appropriately matched the Senate Agriculture Committee's mandatory funding. However, the House committee did not adopt the amendment.
Yesterday, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed its version of the Farm Bill. It includes $800 million in mandatory funding for programs that help jump start additional biorefinery construction for advanced biofuels and renewable chemicals, dedicated energy crop feedstock development and consumer demand of biobased products - all encouraging further commercialization of the renewable industry. Eight-hundred-sixty growers in 12 states plant 59,000 acres of new energy crops a year with the assistance of Biomass Crop Assistance Program, according to the Biotechnology Industry Association.
Novozymes inaugurated a new biofuels enzyme manufacturing plant in Blair, Nebraska in May 2012, the largest and most sophisticated plant of its kind in the United States. With $200 million in private investment, the facility created 400 construction jobs, 100 permanent jobs and help further commercialize the industry.
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