We Can't Wait
We Can’t Wait. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.
As part of the Obama Administration's "We Can't Wait" efforts to strengthen the economy, create jobs and support business growth, Administration officials announced three significant actions to expand the government's purchase of bio-based products, promote regional rural job creation efforts, and develop a rural healthcare workforce. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack discussed the bio-based products.
VILSACK: We know that there are over 3,000 companies, many of them located in rural America that are currently taking what we grow and what we raise and producing more than 20-thousand bio-based products, helping to employ nearly 100-thousand people. We think, and the President believes that there is an unlimited potential for these markets and these products in the bio-based economy and that we need to do everything we can right now to expand opportunity.
A voluntary labeling program that began last year is now certifying more than 500 of these products. Yesterday’s announcement was regarding the federal governments capacity as a purchaser of bio-preferred products.
VILSACK: This involved purchases by federal agencies of bio-based products. To give you some examples that would include cleaning supplies, inks, sealants, paints, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, grease and even items for personal care. The President has established through a memorandum a directive to the USDA and other federal agencies first and foremost to increase the number of categories.
He says there are currently 64 categories and the President wants to increase that by 25 this year.
VILSACK: And then over the course of the next several years increasing it by another 20 categories. This will allow us to double the over 9,000 products that are on the catalog to nearly 18-thousand products that will be available for federal agencies to purchase under the bio-preferred project.
And Vilsack says the President wants these agencies to also accelerate the purchase of these bio-based products.
VILSACK: USDA for example last year purchased nearly $25-million dollars worth of these products and we expect and anticipate to grow that amount over time. And finally the President has instructed USDA and federal agencies to do a better job of tracking performance under the bio-preferred project. This will allow us to work with contractors to get information on actual use by them of bio-based products. At the end of the day the President’s memorandum is designed to provide for more contracts and more opportunities for these bio-based businesses. That obviously is going to mean greater market share. That should lead to more businesses and companies growing, that should lead to more jobs in rural America and the result of a greater demand for what farmers and ranchers and growers can produce.
That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.
