New Record Number of Companies, Trade Groups Urge Congressional Leaders to Reauthorize and Fund Energy Title Programs as Farm Bill Heads to Conference

More than 210 companies and trade associations today wrote House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders, urging them “to reauthorize and maintain full mandatory funding for energy title programs” as Congress confers to pass a final farm bill.

The letter, organized by the Agriculture Energy Coalition, states, “Farm bill energy title programs bring significant investment and opportunity to rural America, providing producers with new revenue sources, promoting development in clean, renewable energy, biobased products, and making energy efficiency investments. Due to federal leadership, rural economic development, jobs, manufacturing, and environmental quality have all seen quantifiable and substantial gains.”

As the coalition explained in it’s March 2018 letter, and reiterated in today’s letter, “Energy title programs account for less than one-tenth-of-one-percent of farm bill spending and yet provide outsized benefits.”

Today’s letter emphasized the coalition’s support for the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill, noting “The programs, as approved in the Senate, can continue to unleash greater benefits.”

The letter goes on to add, “Energy title programs provide the means for ag-based entrepreneurs to launch initiatives to generate jobs and economic development – from wind, geothermal, hydro and solar power, to biogas and advanced biofuels, to biopower, biobased products, renewable chemicals, and energy efficiency.”

Lloyd Ritter, director of the Agriculture Energy Coalition, notes, “The farm bill’s energy title programs provides much needed support to rural America, enabling our farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses to become more self-sufficient, and bring high-value products to market in the United States and around the world. With the support of more than 210 companies and trade associations, we look forward to working with Congress to reauthorize the energy title as the farm bill moves to conference, on its way to final passage.”

A copy of the letter is available at www.agenergycoalition.org.

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