Business, Government Legal News from throughout WVU.S. Ag Secretary: Renewable energy opportunity for rural America

In testimony before the U.S. Senate agricultural committee, the nation's top agriculture official testified to a number of opportunities for rural communities in the energy sector.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Wednesday morning, emphasizing the importance of a "prosperous rural America" to an overall "vibrant" national economy. In addition to providing much of the nation's food, Vilsack said, a number of jobs are springing up in the world of renewable energies.

"In recent years, rural communities have experienced strong job growth, particularly in the manufacturing and clean energy sectors, so that rural unemployment rates are dropping faster than in other parts of the country," Vilsack said. "Despite this job growth, rural communities are still facing significant challenges, including outmigration, lower incomes, higher poverty rates and access to capital."

Vilsack was one of a number of President Barack Obama's department heads who have been touting Obama's policies since the release of the administration's budget proposals earlier this week.

Vilsack highlighted the agriculture committee's work on advancing renewable energy in the recent farm bill.

"Renewable energy – including biofuels, biomass, wind and solar – are an important source of jobs and economic growth in rural communities across the country," he testified. "Biofuels and biomass in particular offer exciting new opportunities for entrepreneurs, farmers, ranchers and growers."

The renewable energy effort, Vilsack said, is part of Obama's "vision for a new era in American energy. The USDA's role in developing that renewable fueled future, Vilsack explained, is multi-faceted.

"USDA has an important role to play in helping to build a cleaner, more secure, more sustainable domestic energy sector for future generations," Vilsack said. "We help agricultural producers and rural small businesses build renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements. At the same time, we are encouraging a nationwide, advanced biofuels economy."

Vilsack touted the marriage of agriculture with new technologies, such as biofuels and use of agricultural lands and resources to create feedstocks for energy production.

"In addition to renewable energy, the production of bioproducts – using agricultural materials to create polymers, chemicals and consumer products – is a growing opportunity for rural economies," Vilsack said. "A bioproducts sector marries two of the most important economic engines for rural America: agriculture and manufacturing. Today, there are more than 3,100 companies across the country producing more than 25,000 biobased products."

In drafting the next farm bill, Vilsack said, the Congress should focus on streamlining the bill and incorporating more flexibility, specifically flexibility to support regional development.