U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced $700 million for pandemic-beleaguered biofuel producers nationwide as part of President Joe Biden's administration's commitment to rural America.
The funds are aimed at helping to lower costs and support biofuel producers plagued by unexpected market losses due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, USDA said in a June 3 news release.
"The Biden-Harris administration is committed to rebuilding the rural economy after the impacts of the pandemic," U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in the news release. "That's why USDA is targeting resources and investments to improve the strength and resiliency of America's sustainable fuel markets. The investments we're announcing today will pave the way to economic recovery for America's biofuel producers, stimulate a critical market for U.S. farmers and ranchers and support our nation’s transition to a clean-energy economy."
The money is coming out of USDA's Biofuel Producer Program, created by last year's Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), and includes more than $486 million targeted at 62 biofuel producers socially vulnerable communities, according to the news release.
USDA is providing money to 195 biofuel production facilities to maintain market viability for agricultural producers of corn, soybean, biomass and other products that supply the nation's biofuel and who suffered unexpected market losses of about 3.7 billion gallons during the pandemic. USDA will be supporting biofuel producers in California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin, according to the release.
