Rural Issues Growing Jobs and Rural Economies: The Farm Bill’s Energy Title
by Jessie Stolark (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) Since their inception in the 2002 Farm Bill, Energy Title (Title IX) programs have helped farmers, ranchers, small businesses, and rural communities generate thousands of jobs and millions in economic development. The sectors impacted by the Energy Title range from renewable energy—including wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, and advanced biofuels—as well as energy efficiency and biobased chemicals and products. The Farm Bill Energy Title programs have played an important role in the greater diversification of rural economies across the country.
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Agriculture Energy Coalition held a briefing examining the outsized positive impact on rural America of the investments made through the Energy Title and how to make its suite of innovative programs even stronger.
Several Energy Title programs were explored. For example, the Rural Energy for America (REAP) program allows producers and small businesses to save money on energy costs and invest further in their businesses and communities. Over 13,000 projects in every state have received REAP awards since 2009, and the program has leveraged an additional $5 billion in private investments. The Biobased Markets Program (BioPreferred) has listed 15,000 industrial biobased products as eligible for federal purchasing preferences. BCAP helps develop new energy crops and reduce hazardous fuel loads in the nation’s forests. And the Biorefinery Assistance Program helps build cutting-edge domestic manufacturing capabilities.
While the Energy Title represents just one-tenth of one percent of the Farm Bill’s overall cost, the programs have been a major catalyst for rural economic development and America’s energy dominance. A recent report from the USDA notes that the bioeconomy’s share of the domestic economy is growing. The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) estimates that the U.S. bioeconomy is worth an estimated $205 billion, and creates 1.6 million direct jobs.
