by Trey Mewes (Mankato Free Press)  As federal officials back off of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, U.S. Sen. Al Franken believes there’s going to be more work to do to ensure farmers and rural communities …

by Keith Loria  (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The 2014 Farm Bill—otherwise known as the Agricultural Act of 2014—places a larger emphasis on energy than past farm bills have. It includes the most recent version of the …

by Jessie Stolark (Environmental and Energy Study Institute)  On June 29, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee approved a spending bill for FY2018 providing $144.0 billion to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), $876 million lower …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, the draft House Appropriations Committee’s FY2018 Agriculture Appropriations bill was released, and cut the Rural Energy for America Program from $50 million to $9 million, cut the Section 9003 …

by Jessie Stolark (Environmental and Energy Study Institute)  The Farm Bill’s Energy Title provides loans and grants to farmers, ranchers and small businesses to encourage investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and the production of …

by Robert White (Renewable Fuels Associatio/SIGMA’s Independent Gasoline Marketing)  Many retailers face infrastructure costs that are simply out of reach. Financing is not as easy as it used to be, and upcoming challenges like EMV …

(US Department of Agriculture/Federal Register)  The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (the Agency) announces the acceptance of applications under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) which is designed to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses …

(U.S. Department of Agriculture)  … The Obama Administration has pursued a carefully balanced approach, deploying technologies that improve the very best of our existing energy sources, while rigorously implementing policies that invest in the second and …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  This month, we held a well-attended webinar on USDA Biomass programs. Here below is a slide deck presented on the day, by the USDA’s Mark Brodziski.  The recorded version of the …

by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest)  In Washington, the USDA has highlighted the economic impacts on rural communities bioenergy investments have made in a new report looking at the $1.1 billion granted for renewable energy through …

by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  … Several of the achievements listed by the USDA benefited the bioenergy and biofuels sectors. Under the category of climate change achievements, the department highlighted its work with the U.S. …

(Genscape)  Now in the hands of president Obama for final sign off, the budget deal that could end the 1975 oil export ban, could also extend investment and Production Tax Credits (ITC and PTC) that …

(RFD-TV)  …  “This is something where they can grow it, and they can make it themselves and they can use it on the farm,” says Jason de Koff, an assistant professor in agronomy and soil …

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine)  On Dec. 7, Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, introduced the Food Recovery Act of 2015. The bill, which aims to reduce the amount of food waste in the U.S., also contains …

(US Department of Agriculture/Biomass Magazine)  USDA under secretary Lisa Mensah recently encouraged rural small businesses to apply for loans and grants to support renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
“Helping rural small businesses save money on …

(US Department of Agriculture)  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today (October 26, 2015) announced that USDA is awarding loans and grants that will help more than 1,100 rural small businesses and agricultural producers reduce energy usage …

(KTIC Radio)  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that USDA has selected Mid America Agri Products/Wheatland, LLC of Madrid, NE to receive $500,000 for ethanol production and Aaron Ross of Columbus, NE to receive $41,250 …

(Agriculture Energy Coalition/BusinessWire) The House Appropriations Committee’s Fiscal Year 2016 Agriculture Appropriations Bill would reduce mandatory spending levels for important Energy Title programs, including the Renewable Energy for America Program, Biomass Crop Assistance Program, and the …

by  Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack asked for the ethanol industry’s support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership in his keynote address at the 2015 Growth Energy Executive Leadership Conference held …

by Anna Simet (Biomass Magazine) Though the USDA Rural Energy for America Program has been hugely successful since it was first implemented in the 2002 Farm Bill, numerous changes have been implemented over the years in …

(US Department of Agriculture/Biomass Magazine)  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced up to $14.5 million in funding for two USDA bioenergy programs made available through the 2014 Farm Bill. USDA’s Rural Development announced it is …

by Jeannine Otto (AgriNews)  Defend, expand, export. …
“We need to make sure that people understand this entire standard is under attack. Folks in Congress, some folks in Congress, would like to do away totally with the …

by Jerry Hagstrom (AgWeek)   Higher grade levels of ethanol need to be available outside the Midwest and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will help make that possible, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.
Higher grade levels of ethanol …

(25 x ’25)   EPA’s release this week of the latest rule governing vehicle emissions and fuel standards is a reminder that while regulations can raise the profile of biofuels, there are no “silver” policy bullets that absolutely …

By Amanda Peterka  (Midwest Energy News/Environment & Energy Daily)    …But USDA’s ability to carry out projects like the installation of solar panels was left to dangle Monday night with the expiration of the farm …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  Legislation to reauthorize the Farm Bill energy title was introduced in the Senate Monday. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Al Franken (D-MN) introduced the Rural Energy Investment Act to “help farmers, ranchers, and …

(US Department of Agriculture/Biodiesel Magazine)  The USDA has proposed a series of changes to make it easier for agricultural producers and rural small businesses to apply for renewable energy and energy efficiency funding. USDA remains …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  The Agriculture Energy Coalition (AgEC) today urged Congress to begin work on a new five-year Farm Bill with strong mandatory funding for energy programs.
The coalition notes that programs included in the …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  …The bad news is, all mandatory funding for energy title programs were stripped from the farm bill at the last moment. “The programs have lived, but they don’t have …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  A total of $16 million in investment for 244 projects received funding from the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program, including several blender pumps and a few biomass-related projects. …

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Out of 430 Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) awards announced by the USDA June 25, four were for blender pumps or flex fuel pumps. In all, projects in …

(US Department of Agriculture)  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA has selected for funding 450 projects nationwide, including 31 in North Carolina, that are focused on helping agricultural producers and rural small businesses …

(CSP Daily News)  Installs ethanol blender pumps across southcentral Wisconsin
United Cooperative has been selected to receive a $448,500 Rural Energy for America Program grant to assist with the installation of 36 ethanol flex-fuel blender pumps …

by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com)  A coalition of trade groups and organizations representing renewable energy, energy efficiency, farm and environmental interests is disappointed in a 2012 Farm Bill draft out of the Senate Agriculture Committee that …

by Anna Austin  (Biomass Power and Thermal Magazine)  The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has released its 2012 Farm Bill platform, which provides suggestions to improve some federal bioenergy programs. These include the Repowering Assistance Program …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  The application window for South Dakota’s inaugural blender pump grant program may have just opened on Jan. 9, but it already appears that the incentive will be a success. …

by Josh Rathod (Advanced Biofuels USA) With a refreshing sense of focus, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, opened the hearing on Energy and Economic Growth for Rural America …

by Anna Austin (Biomass Power and Thermal Magazine)  The USDA announced Jan. 20 a Notice of Funding Availability for its Rural Energy for America Program, and is inviting agricultural producers and rural small businesses to …

(Southeast Agriculture and Forestry Energy Resources Alliance)  As you know, Congress is in the midst of negotiations regarding FY2012 appropriations for the Farm Bill. Of particular interest to SAFER is the proposed cuts to the …

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Thirty-three projects in 22 states have been approved for blender pump grants in the latest round of funding to be dispersed through the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program. …