Boozman Releases Farm Bill Outline That Includes SAF, Biorefining Provisions

Jun 14, 2024

By Erin Voegele

Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, on June 11 released an outline of the Senate Republicans’ version of the 2024 Farm Bill. The outline includes several provisions that support the biorefining and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industries.

The Energy Tile of the 2024 Farm Bill summary released by Boozman includes language directing the USDA to establish a strategy for advancing the production of SAF and clarifies that SAF is an eligible technology under the USDA’s Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Program (Section 9003 loan guarantee program).

The legislation also includes provisions that aim to increase transparency and provide certainty to 9003 program applicants by establishing a technical review agreement that specifies clear outcomes and timelines that applicants need to achieve in order to secure funding. In addition, it also restores a grant component to the program to develop, construct or retrofit pilot or demonstration-scale biorefineries.

The bill aims to improve the Rural Energy for America program by increasing the eligible project size to $50 million; increasing the federal cost share to 50%, creating a new covered rebate pilot program to meet immediate producer needs incurred outside the application period; making grants available to organizations that provide technical assistance to producers and rural small businesses applying for REAP awards; and requiring a simplified application process for projects less than $50,000.

Additional provisions set to be included in the bill aim to strengthen the BioPreferred program by increasing the number and volume of biobased federal procurement contracts; directing the agency to consider increasing the minimum biobased content for each designated product category by up to 5% every five years; strengthening reporting of biobased products that are purchased through online federal procurement systems; and directing the U.S. Commerce Department to develop North American Industry Classification System (NBAICS) product codes for biobased products.

The Farm Bill is a package of legislation that is normally passed every five years. It covers a wide range of programs, including crop insurance, nutrition programs and programs that support bioenergy initiatives.

Click here to see more...

Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

We're a 6th generation family farm in southeast Iowa showing the real ups and downs of pig farming and row crop farming. No script, just the work. Subscribe and follow along.

JOIN THE BARN TALK NEWSLETTER AND GET LIVE EVENT ACCESS: We're on a mission to hit 10,000 subscribers, and when we do, we're hosting a live event at the barn. Sign up for exclusive access to tickets and details.