With the 112th Congress unable to come to terms and pass a new Farm Bill, the current bill was extended for nine months while the 113th Congress works to pass a 2013 Farm Bill. Although the bill is extended as part of the American Taxpayer Relief of 2012, it was extended without energy title funding that includes programs such as the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) Biorefinery Assistance Program (BAP) and the Biobased Markets Program (Biopreffered). The news was not greeted with enthusiasm by the agricultural and renewable energy industries.

“We are deeply disappointed that Congress ignored the bipartisan bill drafted by House and Senate Ag Committee leaders,” said Lloyd Ritter, Ag Energy Coalition co-director. “By eliminating mandatory funding for energy title programs, the agreement cuts short vitally important job creation and economic growth in rural America.”

According to Ritter, these programs have helped to revitalize rural America, develop new agricultural markets, and reduce the need for direct payments to farmers. In addition, says Ritter, these programs have unlocked private capital for construction of the nation’s first cellulosic and advanced biofuel biorefineries. As part of this movement, more than 150,000 acres of underutilized, such as marginal land, in more than 150 countries.

Last year, the U.S. Senate passed a version of a five-year Farm Bill that set mandatory levels each year for renewable energy and energy efficiency programs. A slightly different version of a five-year Farm Bill was passed by the House Agriculture Committee that provided discretionary funding for these programs. Draft legislation for a one-year extension of the current Farm Bill agreed to by the House and Senate Ag Committee leaders and released at the end of December 2012 set mandatory funding levels for 2013. However, the extension did not pass with these funding levels included and will ultimately cause harm to the momentum of agriculture’s role in renewable energy.