Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack addressed members of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) this week for the first time since 2012 and he thanked them for the work they have been doing on the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).
The RCCP started in South Dakota in 2021 and recently received a $35 million investment through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
“You’ve now expanded it to 10 states,” said Vilsack. “You’re providing resources to help farmers reduce tillage to manage nutrients and to utilize cover crops. You have expanded this program and opportunity to 167 counties across those 10 states. You’ve got the possibility of 10s of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of acres being committed to this in an effort to help 13 ethanol facilities make sure they can comply with whatever the carbon intensity score needs to be to be able to take full advantage of new opportunities. You are creating a database that will be verified and measured…And you’re setting the stage for us to make, I think a more powerful case that ethanol needs to be part of the sustainable aviation fuel future.”
Listen to Vilsack’s remarks here:
ACE 24 Sec. Vilsack remarks 48:40