The Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing last week titled “U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA) Programs and their Economic Impact across America.”

The witnesses testifying at the hearing included Lisa Mensah, USDA under secretary for rural development; Craig Hill, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation; Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association; and Cris Somerville, president of Dakota Turbines in Cooperstown, N.D.

The American Soybean Association (ASA) submitted a statement for the hearing record focusing on the benefits provided by the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels (Bioenergy Program). In addition to housing, water and wastewater infrastructure, community facilities, business development and telecommunications, which provide vital services and assistance to rural communities, there are also several renewable energy programs administered by Rural Development which directly support key markets for soybean farmers.

As these new and emerging markets develop and expand, incomes for farmers increase and the rural economy benefits. The renewable energy program that has the greatest direct impact for soybean farmers is the Bioenergy Program, which was reauthorized and funded under Section 9005 of the Agricultural Act of 2014.  The Bioenergy Program supports biodiesel producers and other forms of bioenergy through payments to eligible producers to support and expand the production of bioenergy produced from agricultural and forestry resources.

A copy of the full ASA statement can be viewed here.