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Groups React to USDA Rule on Climate-Smart Agriculture Crops

(WASHINGTON D.C.) — On Wednesday, USDA announced the publication of an interim rule on Technical Guidelines for Climate-Smart Agriculture Crops Used as Biofuel Feedstocks. It establishes guidelines for quantifying, reporting, and verifying the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of biofuel feedstock commodity crops grown in the U.S. and it covers three feedstocks: corn, soy and sorghum.

The rule also covers climate-smart practices that could reduce GHG emissions or sequester carbon, including reduced till and no-till, cover cropping, and nutrient management practices like using nitrification inhibitors. The interim rule also allows for the adoption of CSA practices both individually and in combination. This means farmers would have the flexibility to adopt the CSA practices that make sense for their operation while still being able to produce feedstocks with reduced carbon intensities under the rule.

Outgoing USDA Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, on a press call with reporters, said in part that “I think farmers are pretty well aware of the notion of no-till. They certainly understand cover crops as we’re seeing expanded utilization of cover crops around the United States and a number of ways in which we’ve encouraged that at USGA. What we’re doing here in terms of the field issues is we’re expanding that option to include sort of a limited-till option, which didn’t exist under 40B.”

Vilsack went on to add that “And in terms of the fertilizer, the energy efficiency fertilizer was included in 40B, but as part of a bundle. Now, in addition to it, we also have timing issues that can create potential reductions in a CI score that can be calculated. And we’ve indicated that the producer now has a choice whether to bundle or whether to use individual practices based on their own individual circumstance. One of the concerns of 40B was that not every farmer does all of these things at the same time on the same field. And now farmers will have the ability to do some calculations. They’ll be able to say, well, what if I do no-till? What if I do inhibitors? What if I don’t? They’ll be able to make the best decision for their operation based on their individual operation.”

USDA is also releasing a CI score calculator with the final rule that Secretary Vilsack indicated is quite simple to use. “And I will tell you, the use of this calculator is really simple. I mean, it is really, really simple. I mean, it’s essentially you’ve got to put your name in there. You’ve got to put the farm location in there. You’ve got to essentially identify the practices that you’re using and that you’ve essentially not come to this because of 45Z or made decisions recently. You’ve been doing, you know, you’ve been planting these crops for some time,” according to Vilsack. “Once you’ve basically certified to that and attest to that, you can run the calculations and it is what it is. So farmers will find this easy to use and they will find it very helpful in helping them make decisions about how best to position their farm, their individual farm, and for that matter, the individual fields within the farm for utilization for bio-feedstocks for SAF.”

Multiple agriculture and biofuel groups reacted positively to the news from USDA, including the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, Clean Fuels Alliance America and National Corn Growers Association.

“America’s ethanol producers applaud USDA for publishing these important guidelines, and we sincerely thank Secretary Tom Vilsack for his extraordinary vision and leadership,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “The entire team at USDA deserves much credit for the enormous effort and technical work that went into this process. These new guidelines begin to open the door to new value-added opportunities for farmers and renewable fuel producers.”

Cooper noted that emissions related to feedstock production account for more than half of ethanol’s carbon footprint; and to date, policies and regulations have not allowed farmers and ethanol producers to embrace more efficient, lower-carbon feedstock production practices as a pathway for reducing the carbon intensity of renewable fuels and breaking into new markets like sustainable aviation fuel.

Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor issued the following statement, saying in part that “this new CSA rule hits all the right notes and will help set American ethanol up to deliver a more affordable, low carbon, homegrown energy solution to American drivers. Today’s announcement also sets the stage for new economic opportunities in rural America, as it means farmers could get credit for their work to grow more crops using fewer resources. We commend USDA and specifically Secretary Vilsack for building this rule and the agency’s new feedstock carbon intensity calculator in a way that will maximize economic benefits to farmers, putting them in a position to help America’s ethanol industry unleash American energy dominance.”

“We are appreciative of Secretary Vilsack for ushering the process along and increasing the number of corn bushels that would qualify for the tax credit,” said Illinois farmer and National Corn Growers Association President Kenneth Hartman Jr. “It is still unclear whether that is enough to enable farmer participation.”

Kurt Kovarik, Clean Fuels Vice President of Federal Affairs, stated, “We appreciate Treasury, USDA, and the Department of Energy issuing these long-awaited rules and models. We also thank the many Members of Congress who urged the Administration to publish this guidance as soon as possible. Biodiesel and renewable diesel combined are meeting 9% of U.S. demand for distillate fuel for heavy-duty transportation needs. These rules are crucial to our industry, and continued growth in the industry is essential to the agricultural sector and to U.S. energy security. We will continue to work with our members to evaluate whether today’s releases provide clean fuel producers the policy certainty they need to negotiate feedstock and fuel offtake agreements, and ultimately grow the production and market for biomass-based diesel.”

American Coalition for Ethanol CEO Brian Jennings expressed gratitude for USDA’s leadership in a statement, stating in part that “we commend Secretary Vilsack and the Office of Chief Economist for taking critical steps to support farmers and biofuel producers in achieving verifiable carbon reductions through climate-smart practices. We’re pleased to see greater flexibility for farmers, including the stacking of practices and a departure from the all-or-none bundled approach previously required under 40B. ACE looks forward to continuing our collaboration with USDA and the Treasury Department as it finalizes the 45Z Clean Fuel Production tax credit under the incoming administration, ensuring these efforts are accurately recognized and rewarded.”

USDA is requesting public comment on the interim rule to help inform future revisions or additions. Go to regulations.gov for more information.

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