In Iowa, former Secretary Tom Vilsack and former Iowa Lt. Governor Patty Judge said that Trump’s $300 million aid package for oil and gas companies that may come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Commodity Credit Corporation, the same program that would assist struggling farmers and biofuels producers, is “insulting” when similar requests for farmers […]
In Iowa, at a virtual event with former Iowa Governor and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Wapello County educator Melinda Jones last night, businesswoman Theresa Greenfield highlighted and answered questions about her commitment to creating more opportunity throughout rural Iowa, including supporting biofuels. Theresa and Gov. Vilsack laid out how Senator Joni Ernst […]
In Washington, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the release of a report studying the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) balance of corn ethanol. The report, A Life-Cycle Analysis of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn-Based Ethanol, finds that GHG emissions associated with corn-based ethanol in the United States are about 43 percent lower than gasoline when […]
In Washington, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced funding for 821 projects across the nation that will help rural small businesses and agricultural producers reduce energy usage and costs in their operations. The funding is available through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and will be used to make energy efficiency improvements and install renewable […]
In Washington, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA has selected Mid America Agri Products/Wheatland, LLC of Madrid, NE to receive $500,000 for technology to help boost ethanol production efficiency. Mid America Agri Products/Wheatland, LLC will utilize USDA funds to install a Cellunator system to provide secondary milling after the primary hammer milling to fine-tune […]
In Washington, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the launch of two new private funds, known as rural business investment companies (RBICs), which make equity investments in rural businesses, helping them grow and create jobs. This announcement is part of USDA’s ongoing efforts to help attract private sector capital to investment opportunities in rural America […]
In Washington, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced up to $14.5 million in funding for two USDA bioenergy programs made available through the 2014 Farm Bill. USDA’s Rural Development (RD) announced it is accepting applications from companies seeking to offset the costs associated with converting fossil fuel systems to renewable biomass fuel systems, while USDA’s […]
In Washington, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin accepting applications June 16 from energy facilities interested in receiving forest or agricultural residues to generate clean energy. The support comes through the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), which was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. Recap of the […]
In Washington, US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the Foreign Agricultural Service awarded fiscal year 2013 funding to more than 70 U.S. agricultural organizations to help expand commercial export markets for their goods. Under the Market Access Program (MAP), FAS will provide $172.7 million to 70 nonprofit organizations and cooperatives. MAP participants contribute an […]
In Mexico, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today issued the following statement following his meeting with Mexico’s new Secretary of Agriculture, Enrique Martínez y Martínez, which reads in part: “In our wide-ranging discussions, Secretary Martínez and I committed to reenergize and revitalize the U.S.-Mexico Consultative Committee on Agriculture, a forum that will enable us to address […]
