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The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS), an agency of the Rural Development mission area within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), issued a final rule on December 9, 2024, that adopts changes from the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) that apply to the Biobased Markets (BioPreferred) Program. 89 Fed. Reg. 97459. RBCS notes that these changes include the merger of the Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement and the Voluntary Labeling...

On July 5, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its spring 2024 Unified Agenda, which includes the following items regarding biobased products and biotechnology:...

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS), an agency of the Rural Development mission area within U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), issued a proposed rule on January 24, 2024, that would adopt changes from the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill). 89 Fed. Reg. 4770. The changes include merging the Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement (7 C.F.R. Part 3201) and the Voluntary Labeling Program for Biobased Products (7 C.F.R. Part 3202) into...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On July 24, 2023, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) introduced the Biomanufacturing and Jobs Act to strengthen the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) BioPreferred program. According to Klobuchar’s July 24, 2023, press release, the bill would: Strengthen markets for farmers while also supporting well-paying manufacturing jobs; Allow the Secretary of Agriculture to set...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On September 12, 2022, President Joseph Biden signed an Executive Order creating a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative “that will ensure we can make in the United States all that we invent in the United States.” On September 14, 2022, the White House will host a Summit on the National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative during which cabinet agencies will announce a wide range of new investments...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton According to an item in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Unified Agenda, which was published on June 21, 2022, USDA intended to publish in June 2022 a proposed rule that would codify BioPreferred Program guidance. According to the item, USDA expects this action to reduce burden on both it and the applicants by reducing requirements, clarifying requirements, streamlining the application and certification process, and...

By Lynn L. Bergeson The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced recently a new program that directs USDA to partner with at least one qualified institution to support the scale-up of sustainable bioproduct manufacturing. Up to $5 million is available for each of the fiscal years (FY) 2022 and 2023. NIFA will work in collaboration with USDA Rural Development’s BioPreferred program to seek research proposals that explore...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.  On February 22, 2022, U.S. Senator and Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and U.S. Senator and Committee member, Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, requesting improvements to the United States’ biobased economy. Senators Stabenow and Klobuchar’s request focuses particularly on the U.S....

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.  On February 22, 2022, U.S. Senator and Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and U.S. Senator and Committee member, Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, requesting improvements to the United States’ biobased economy. Senators Stabenow and Klobuchar’s request focuses particularly on the U.S....

Plastics Insight, “IKEA, Neste Collaborates for First Large-scale Production of Renewable, Bio-based Polypropylene Plastic” Markets Insider, “Kreussler Inc. Earns USDA Certified Biobased Product Label” CISION PRWeb, “John Kaweske Announces Bio Clean Energy Wins $36 Million Biodiesel Supply Contract Bolivia Government Oil Companies”...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 4, 2018, Proctor & Gamble (P&G) announced the launch of Downy’s first plant-based line of fabric conditioner. In addition to powering the manufacturing process completely with renewable wind powered electricity at a zero-manufacturing waste to landfill facility, the product formula includes 70 percent biobased ingredients and the bottles are made from 25 percent post-consumer recycled content.  The 70 percent claim has been certified through...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 9, 2018, Tremco Roofing and Building Maintenance announced that its POWERply® Endure™ BIO Adhesive had earned the Certified Biobased Product label from the USDA BioPreferred Program. Tremco’s adhesive is made of 71 percent biobased material with ultra-low levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) that meet California VOC limits. Four other Tremco Roofing products have the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label, including AlphaGuard™ BIO...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 3, 2018, Jacor, LLC announced that five of its EcoBioClean® products earned the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Biobased Product label: EcoBioClean® 100 COSW with 95% biobased content; EcoBioClean® Pipes/Tanks 103 CE with 95% biobased content; EcoBioClean® Fresh Water 101 COFW with 95% biobased content; EcoBioClean® Land 102 COL with 95% biobased content; and EcoBioClean® Biological Waste 105 BW with 95% biobased content....

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 20, 2018, BioLogiQ, Inc. announced that its NuPlastiQ® GP biopolymer received certification under the USDA BioPreferred program.  NuPlastiQ is a 100 percent renewably-resourced, plant-based resin that is blended with traditional plastics to reduce fossil-based plastic use and greenhouse gas emissions.  The thermoplastic resin is produced using BioLogiQ’s proprietary process for converting high crystalline starch into a low crystalline (mostly...

On November 29, 2016, Green Biologics, Inc. (Green Biologics) announced that its high purity biobased n-butanol and acetone received certification under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) BioPreferred® program.  Both products, which are produced through the fermentation of sugars from renewable feedstocks, were certified as 100 percent biobased.  In the early stages of its first commercial production facility, Green Biologics aims to produce commercial n-butanol and...

On September 1, 2016, the Safety Equipment Institute (SEI) announced that it was selected to manage the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Biobased Certification Program for the next five years. SEI is a subsidiary of ASTM International (ASTM), and has previously held the five-year contract with USDA to administer the USDA certification program that labels products as "biobased." This announcement comes on the heels of an update of ASTM's test method (D6866), that...

Last week, USDA issued a fact sheet containing an Overview of USDA's BioPreferred Program (BioPreferred). BioPreferred was created in 2002 with the passing of the 2002 Farm Bill, and was recently expanded as part of the 2014 Farm Bill. This has resulted in the growth of BioPreferred to include more than 2,500 products in 100 different categories. BioPreferred has two main initiatives to support the biobased product marketplace. The first initiative is to provide a voluntary...

On Monday, October 26, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) presented “Bioproducts in the Federal Bioeconomy Portfolio Webinar,” a webinar on how the federal government is promoting sustainability through three different avenues: bioproducts research; commercialization; and market development.  The presenters on these topics were DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) Technology Manager Nichole Fitzgerald; U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) BioPreferred Deputy...

On October 8, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy announced the upcoming Bioproducts in the Federal Bioeconomy Portfolio Webinar. Bioenergy Technologies Office Technology Manager Nichole Fitzgerald, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) BioPreferred Deputy Program Manager Kate Lewis, and the Ohio State University Bioproducts Innovation Center's Director Dennis Hall will discuss how the federal government supports bioproducts...

On September 25, 2015, EPA published Recommendations for Specifications, Environmental Performance Standards, and Ecolabels for Federal Procurement. The notice describes EPA's recommendations for federal agencies that are purchasing environmentally-friendly products. Section 3(i) of Executive Order 13693, Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade, directs federal agencies to adhere to certain environmental performance and sustainability standards when practicable. The new EPA...

On June 17, 2015, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the release of a report to congress that builds on the Why Biobased? report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2014. The new report, An Economic Impact Analysis of the U.S. Biobased Products Industry, shows that in 2013, the U.S. biobased industry added $369 billion dollars and four million jobs to the economy. The biobased products industry is comprised of many significant...

On June 15, 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued final amendments to the regulations concerning the Voluntary Labeling Program for Biobased Products. The rule is intended to incorporate statutory amendments to Section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act signed into law on February 2, 2014. Among other changes, USDA has deleted the definitions of "BioPreferred product," "Designated item," and "Mature market products" and revised the...

On March 19, 2015, the White House published an Executive Order signed by President Obama that would further a preference for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) BioPreferred products. Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade sets new greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets for federal agencies to reach by 2025 and increases renewable energy use and building efficiency, while reducing fleet emissions in the federal government. The new targets would reduce total GHG emissions by...

On October 27, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed to amend the regulations for the Voluntary Labeling Program for Biobased Products under USDA's BioPreferred Program. As explained in the Federal Register notice, the proposed amendments are needed to address certain legislative requirements in the 2014 Farm Bill that cannot be implemented without further guidance. Specifically, the proposed amendments allow for USDA promotion of biobased products regardless of date of...

On October 7, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released "Why Biobased?," a report that comprehensively synthesizes findings from the existing government, academia, and non-governmental organizations on bioeconomy opportunities. The report is a precursor for another study to be issued in the near future by the USDA BioPreferred program on the economic impacts of the biobased products industry. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated "[t]his new report presents the...

On August 1, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a final rule on "Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement." A copy of the rule is available online. The rule is effective on September 2, 2014. Under the rule, wood products will become eligible under USDA's BioPreferred Program, which was created under the 2002 Farm Bill. The rule removes language that excluded mature markets from the program. This change will open up...

On Friday, May 23, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its semi-annual regulatory agenda (Agenda) indicating its intended actions and priorities for the remainder of the year. A copy of USDA's Agenda is available online. According to the Agenda, USDA intends to issue its final rule addressing how its BioPreferred® Program will designate complex products and intermediate materials and feedstocks in July 2014. USDA published its proposed rule on this matter in the...

On February 17, 2014, GOJO Industries announced the launch of its new GOJO® ECOPREFERRED™ Pumice Hand Cleaner. The Hand Cleaner is a USDA Certified Biobased product under the Department's BioPreferred Program. To qualify for the BioPreferred Program, hand cleaners must have a minimum of 64 percent biobased content. A copy of GOJO's press release on the announcement is available online....

On December 19, 2013, Cortec Corporation headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, announced its Patent Pending BioPad® product. The company states that BioPad® "is a unique flexible corrosion inhibiting device constructed from 100% biobased non-woven material, containing 66% biobased content. BioPad® provides an eco-friendly sustainable packaging option for corrosion inhibition and has been awarded USDA BioPreferredSM designation. It is specially designed with Vapor phase Corrosion...