USDA invests $10 million in pilot program for bio-based products
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA is accepting applications for a new pilot program created under President Biden's historic bipartisan infrastructure law to support the development of bio-based products with lower carbon footprints and increase availability. The use of regenerative agricultural materials creates a new source of income for farmers.
Minister Vilsack visited Dan and Debbie Creamery, a family-owned business in Erie, Iowa, and met to discuss the biological product pilot program and the resulting innovations that will impact their business and the customers they serve.
Under the program, USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) can award up to $10 million to the highest-rated applications that include eligible universities and private sector partners.
Bipartisan infrastructure laws provide funding for sustainable bio-product manufacturing in construction and consumer products. The regulation directs the USDA to work with "not less than one agency" to study the benefits of using materials derived from a very broad definition of "covered agricultural products."
