Good for the Nation

Good for the Nation

Good for the Nation. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.
New regulations from the Obama administration should help the environment, lower the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and give a boost to farmers and rural communities by promoting the use of biofuels – which are fuels made from plants. American Farm Bureau renewable fuels specialist Elizabeth Jones...

JONES: This is good because it increases our nation’s energy security.  It helps farmers make money.  It helps rural communities create and keep jobs.  It’s good for farmers, rural communities and Americans in general. 
The boost came in three parts.  The environmental protection agency finalized rules for the renewable fuels standard, which increased the level of biofuels that will be mixed into the nation’s transportation fuel supply.  The department of agriculture announced a program that will encourage farmers to grow non-food crops for biofuels production and cabinet members announced a new plan for advancing biofuels development and commercialization.

JONES: We hope that all of these announcements will help stimulate biofuel investment.  We really believe that this is key to a comprehensive energy policy that can keep us energy independent. 
Jones says there was some unwelcome news in all the announcements.  The EPA still plans to use an unscientific method for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from producing biofuels, called indirect land use.

JONES: They’re looking at direct emissions, but also the changes that can occur in land use in other countries attributable to things like deforestation. It really penalizes domestic biofuel producers.  We have no way of controlling what happens in other countries.  We believe the methodology they’re using is flawed. And we would like to see them change that, but we are very happy about the increase in the gallons of renewable biofuels that will be available to consumers. 

Jones explains why new announcements about biofuels are important.

JONES: This is a really big deal because it has the potential to create new markets for farmers who want to grow biomass feed stocks. The energy act that passed in 2007 increased the number of gallons of biofuels that are required in the nation’s transportation fuel supply and what the EPA’s rulemaking did was put the rules in place so we can begin increasing the gallons of biofuels that we use. 

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.

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