USDA agrees: more use of biobased products
Nov 21, 2002 12:00 PM
USDA and Iowa State University have agreed to work together on a project aimed at increasing the use of biobased fuels by government agencies.
Under their cooperative agreement, USDA will provide $1 million annually for testing biobased products, which will enable USDA to move more quickly to get the biobased product procurement program in operation.
“We expect this new program to help stimulate broad interest in commercial and industrial products made from agricultural and forest materials,” said Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman. “This initiative will help expand markets for farmers and foresters.”
In the near future, she said, USDA will issue proposed guidelines for use by federal agencies in meeting the biobased product procurement requirements as outlined in the 2002 farm bill. An electronic list of available qualified biobased products will be provided to federal agencies to assist them in meeting their purchase requirements.
A voluntary USDA Certified Biobased Product labeling program will emphasize the beneficial environmental and performance characteristics of biobased products that qualify for the use of the label.
Veneman said Iowa State University was chosen to lead the effort because of the significant resources it has directed toward developing biobased products and bioenergy. Under the agreement, Iowa State, other universities and entities will develop capacity for testing biobased products, including:
Create a management information system for the long-term operation of the biobased labeling and testing program.
Establish the capability for testing biobased products by ISU scientists.
Identify and qualify other university and private sector testing entities across the United States.
Establish protocols and procedures to assure availability of capacity to perform biobased testing of products that manufacturers want to qualify for placement on the preferred procurement list.
Coordinate product testing services to manufacturers and prospective purchasers.
USDA will provide a portion of the funds available under the energy title of the farm bill to the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to enable its Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) model to analyze products made from biobased feedstocks.
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