Biobased products, including fuels, lubricants, construction materials, and more are the future, and were the subject of several House farm bill amendments last week. Iowa’s Zach Nunn offered and withdrew his biobased products amendment after Chair Glenn Thompson agreed to work with him to perfect it for possible later inclusion.
Nunn says “bureaucratic red tape” has kept the program underutilized, limiting its effectiveness. Nunn cosponsored the amendment with Illinois Rep. Nikki Budzinski.
Budzinski says that takes infrastructure to make fuels, feed, and even textiles to create those new markets and bring farmers “into the future.”
A separate amendment also withdrawn with a commitment for further review would give USDA a role to better define and clarify biobased product labels to boost consumer and manufacturer acceptance and sales.
