More than 100 organizations that represent a broad range of renewable energy, farm, ranch, commodity, environmental and other groups have joined together to ask leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to reauthorize and fund energy title programs from the farm bill that revitalize rural America and improve national security and the environment. According to the letter, “The Rural Energy for America Program, Biomass Crop Assistance Program, Biorefinery Assistance Program and Biobased Markets Program strongly support American agriculture and ensure broad public benefits to the entire country – including creating or saving thousands of direct and indirect jobs.”
National Farmers Union is among the groups that signed the letter. NFU President Roger Johnson says these programs need support. He says they provide rural Americans with a level of certainty for their investments in renewable energy so they can be guaranteed at least some return.
Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, and Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken of Minnesota recently introduced energy title legislation providing more than 1.2-billion dollars in funding over the next five years for these programs.
Source: NAFB News Service