Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack used his speech at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual convention to roll out more than $200 million in loans and grants through programs meant to bolster American production of fertilizer and renewable energy.
The investments, made through the Rural Energy for America Program and the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program, will reach more than 680 projects in 42 states, including $157 million through REAP, which funds renewable energy projects, and $50 million through FPEP, which is aimed at building new domestic fertilizer production capacity.
In his remarks, Vilsack said the funding was part of his oft-stated desire to diversify income streams for producers and find ways to support more small- and medium-sized farmers.
“We can't afford to continue to lose farms and farmland. We have to figure out a better way, a different way, a more exciting way, a more challenging way,” he said.
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The awards include a $32.2 million FPEP grant to acquire and retrofit a North Carolina facility that will have an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons of organic fertilizer and ammonium sulfate, a $23.1 million REAP loan for a renewable natural gas facility in New York, and nearly 40 REAP grants at the program’s maximum of $1,000,000.
In a statement, Vilsack said the investments ensured “farmers, ranchers and small businesses are not only a part of the clean energy economy, but [are] directly benefiting from it.”
According to USDA, the department has rolled out $166 million to 40 projects through FPEP since the program was launched in 2022. The department says President Joe Biden has committed $900 million for the program, which is funded through USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation; Vilsack told Farm Bureau members USDA has identified another 50 projects “yet to be funded.
“There's a tremendous opportunity for us to substantially expand access to fertilizer and lower costs for farmers,” he said. “And many of these projects are farmer-owned, which creates yet another profit opportunity, another entrepreneurial opportunity.”
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