Agricultural News
Novozymes on Farm Bill Passage: "Farmers are Core to American Innovation"
Wed, 05 Feb 2014 10:18:44 CST
Novozymes praised the Senate for passing a farm bill 68 to 32 with nearly $900 million in dedicated funding for some of the nation's most critical energy and job-creation programs, including advanced biofuels. The bill also expands biomass programs at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to include bio-based product and renewable chemical development, creating more opportunity for new jobs at the country's growing biorefinery manufacturing hubs. The House passed the bill last week 251 to 166.
"America's farmers are core to the innovation that's driven down our dependence on foreign oil - and this policy will help keep them doing it," said Adam Monroe, Novozymes Regional President of the Americas. "There's already enough concern about energy policy in America with EPA's proposed revisions to the Renewable Fuel Standard. It's a powerful sign to see policy certainty surrounding the energy programs in the farm bill. We thank Congress for taking action and we urge President Obama to swiftly sign it."
Specifically, the Agriculture Act of 2014 funds biomass initiatives for the next five years:
--Bio-based Markets - $3 million per year
--Biomass Research and Development - $3 million per year
--Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and Bio-based Product Manufacturing Assistance Program - $100 million in 2014, $50 million in 2015-16
--Biomass Crop Assistance Program - $25 million per year
--Bioenergy for Advanced Biofuels - $15 million per year
The energy title funds USDA programs that help jumpstart 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. Eleven-hundred growers in 12 states plant 53,000 underutilized acres of new energy crops a year with assistance from the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, according to the USDA.
In May 2012, Novozymes inaugurated a new biofuels enzyme manufacturing plant in Blair, Nebraska, 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 and 100 permanent jobs.
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