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Biden admin set to boost biobased products

The Biden administration announced a multi-million-dollar investment in the development of biobased products at a stop in Iowa on Tuesday.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says $10 million in grants from the bipartisan infrastructure law will help build a supply chain roadmap for the increased use of renewable agriculture materials.

“It means basically taking everything that’s grown and raised and produced on a farm, and then turning it into something more valuable,” he said. “Not just the corn and soybeans, not just the livestock that could be processed, but it also improves all of the waste product.”

Vilsack says one of the main goals is to help the environment by lowering carbon footprints.

“If you are heavily engaged in the livestock business, you obviously have waste issues you have to deal with,” he said. “What we know, based on the condition of our rivers, is that we are – in some situations and circumstances – overapplying. How do you reduce that risk? You find an alternative use for that waste.”

The USDA will have a website available for the grant funding at a later date.