The 2002 farm bill ( P.L. In addition to these types of tax incentives and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that mandates a minimum level of renewable fuel usage, the provisions of Title IX of the 2014 farm bill, the Agricultural Act of 2014 ( P.L. 113-79 ), represents a significant source of federal support for biofuels production and use in the United States. Title IX of the 2014 farm bill continued long-standing congressional support for the production of renewable energy from agriculturally sourced materials. 107-171 ) was the first omnibus farm bill to explicitly include an energy title (Title IX). 2014 Farm Bill—Extends Most Programs with New Funding

All of the major energy programs from the 2008 farm bill expired at the end of FY2013 and lacked baseline funding going forward. Key energy-related provisions in the 2014 farm bill include
Section 9002, which extended the Biobased Markets Program that promotes biobased products through a federal purchasing requirement and a labeling initiative; Section 9003, which extended the Biorefinery Assistance Program with new funding and renamed as the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program; Section 9004, which extended the Repowering Assistance Program with new funding; Section 9005, which extended the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels with new funding; Section 9006, which extended the Biodiesel Fuel Education Program with new funding; Section 9007, which extended the Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP)—which provides support for rural energy efficiency and self-sufficiency and biofuels marketing infrastructure—with new funding, but included a new provision which precludes the use of REAP funding for any mechanism for dispensing energy at the retail level (for example, blender pumps); Section 9008, which extended the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) with new funding for biofuels research programs within USDA and DOE; Section 9009, which extended the sugar-to-ethanol Feedstock Flexibility Program; Section 9010, which extended the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), including the collection, harvesting, storage, and transportation (CHST) component designed to incentivize the production of cellulosic ethanol feedstock; Section 9011, which repealed the Forest Biomass for Energy Program; Section 9012, which extended the Community Wood Energy Program with new funding; Section 9013, which repealed the Biofuels Infrastructure Study; Section 9014, which repealed the Renewable Fertilizer Study; Section 9015, which added a new reporting requirement on energy use and efficiency at USDA facilities; Section 7212, which repealed the Agricultural Bioenergy Feedstock and Energy Efficiency Research and Extension Initiative; and Section 7526, which reauthorized, with new funding, the Sun Grant Initiative programs that provide funding for competitive grants and coordinate research on advanced biofuels at land-grant universities and federally funded laboratories. The 2014 farm bill excluded the Rural Energy Self-Sufficiency Initiative of the 2008 farm bill. Funding Under the 2008 Farm Bill

The 2008 farm bill authorized slightly over $1 billion in mandatory funding and $1.1 billion in discretionary appropriations to Title IX energy programs for FY2008-FY2012 ( Table A-2 ). Funding Under the 2014 Farm Bill

The five-year reauthorization period (FY2014-FY2018) of the 2014 farm bill ( P.L. 113-79 ) contained a total of $694 million in new mandatory funding and authorized $765 million to be appropriated for the various farm bill renewable energy programs ( Table A-1 ). Major Energy Provisions in the 2014 Farm Bill

What follows is a summary of the bioenergy-related authorities found in the 2014 farm bill, including (where applicable) a brief description of each program, funding levels, and the status of program implementation, including any noteworthy changes made by the 2014 farm bill. USDA refers to the program as the BioPreferred® Program. Program Overview : Originally called the Biorefinery Assistance Program (BAP) as authorized in the 2008 farm bill, this program assists in the development of new and emerging technologies for advanced biofuels. Administered by: USDA. Changes in 2014 Farm Bill: The 2014 farm bill extended the Sun Grant Program with its discretionary funding authority (i.e., subject to appropriations) of $75 million annually through FY2018.
Title IX, the energy title of the 2014 farm bill (Agricultural Act of 2014; P.L. 113-79), contains authority for the energy programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA energy programs have incentivized research, development, and adoption of renewable energy projects, including solar, wind, and anaerobic digesters. However, the primary focus of USDA energy programs has been to promote U.S. biofuels production and use—including corn starch-based ethanol (the predominant biofuel produced and consumed in the United States), cellulosic ethanol, and soybean-based biodiesel. The USDA energy programs via the farm bill are separate from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and tax incentives contained in separate energy and tax legislation.
Three farm bills have contained an energy title: the 2002 farm bill, the 2008 farm bill, and the 2014 farm bill. For all three farm bills, the major energy programs expire and lack baseline funding. The enacted 2014 farm bill extended most of the energy provisions of the 2008 farm bill with new funding authority, with the exception of the Rural Energy Self-Sufficiency Initiative, the Forest Biomass for Energy Program, the Biofuels Infrastructure Study, and the Renewable Fertilizer Study, which were either omitted or repealed. At issue for Congress is what oversight, programs, and initiatives, if any, an energy title under the forthcoming farm bill might support. The 2014 farm bill energy title provisions may be of interest during the upcoming farm bill debate, as Congress may decide to modify or reauthorize many of the programs.
The 2014 farm bill continued the attempt to refocus U.S. biofuels policy initiatives to favor non-corn feedstocks (e.g., cellulosic feedstocks). The most critical programs to this end are the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels, which pays producers for production of eligible advanced biofuels; the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program (formerly Biorefinery Assistance Program), which assists in the development of new and emerging technologies for advanced biofuels; the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), which assists farmers in developing nontraditional crops for use as feedstocks for the eventual production of cellulosic biofuels; and the Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP), which has funded a variety of biofuels-related projects. In addition, the 2014 farm bill included a new provision that precludes the use of REAP funding for any mechanism for dispensing energy at the retail level (e.g., blender pumps). Also, despite several amendments to the contrary, and its explicit exclusion from all financial support in the House-passed version of the 2014 farm bill (H.R. 2642), BCAP funding for the collection, harvest, storage, and transportation (CHST) component was retained in the 2014 farm bill. Finally, the 2014 farm bill added a new reporting requirement on energy use and efficiency at USDA facilities.
Over the five-year reauthorization period (FY2014-FY2018), the 2014 farm bill contained a total of $694 million in new mandatory funding and authorizes discretionary funding (i.e., subject to annual appropriations) of $765 million for the various farm bill renewable energy programs. This is a significant reduction from the 2008 farm bill, which had authorized slightly over $1 billion in mandatory funding over the five-year period of FY2008-FY2012, along with $1.7 billion in discretionary appropriations to Title IX energy programs. The mandatory funding has been the primary support for these programs, as appropriators have not provided funding for most of the discretionary authorizations.