USDA publishes interim rule on climate-smart agriculture crops used as biofuel feedstocks

USDA announced Jan. 15 the publication of an interim rule on technical guidelines for climate-smart agriculture (CSA) crops used as biofuel feedstocks.

The interim rule establishes guidelines for quantifying, reporting and verifying the greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions associated with the production of biofuel feedstock commodity crops grown in the United States.

These guidelines will facilitate the recognition of CSA within clean transportation fuel programs, creating new market opportunities for biofuel feedstock producers while enhancing climate benefits, according to USDA.

“The new guidelines are a win for farmers, biofuel producers, the public and the environment,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The action today marks an important milestone in the development of market-based conservation opportunities for agriculture.”

John Podesta, the White House senior advisor for international climate policy, added, “America’s farmers play a critical role in building the clean energy economy. Today’s announcement from USDA reinforces the important role CSA plays in our rural economy, including in fueling clean transportation solutions, as well as the importance of providing pathways for unbundled, science-based accounting of the carbon benefits of climate-smart practices that help farmers earn more for what they grow.”

The rule establishes a framework to connect CSA practices applied in the production of feedstock crops with reductions in the carbon footprint of biofuels.

The rule includes three feedstock crops: corn, soy and sorghum.

It also covers CSA practices that could reduce GHG emissions or sequester carbon, including reduced till and no-till; cover cropping; and nutrient-management practices, such as the use of nitrification inhibitors.

Importantly, the interim rule allows for adoption of CSA practices both individually or in combination.

This means that participating farmers would have the flexibility to adopt the CSA practices that make sense for their operation while still being able to produce feedstocks with reduced carbon intensities under the rule.

Through this interim rule, USDA is establishing standards that can be used to quantify, track and report the impacts of these practices.

The interim rule establishes voluntary guidelines that may inform the development of requirements for other programs that incentivize low-carbon biofuels.

Establishing quantification and verification standards for climate-smart practices helps to ensure that the net GHG-emissions reductions from these practices are real, thereby improving credibility and confidence, which could facilitate market opportunities for U.S. farmers growing biofuel feedstocks.

In addition to reducing GHG emissions and increasing carbon sequestration, CSA practices can also generate additional environmental benefits, including improved water quality and soil health.

The interim rule includes guidelines on the following:

• Biofuel feedstock crops and entities in the biofuel supply chain.

• Quantification of farm-level crop-specific carbon intensity.

• Chain-of-custody standards for entities in the biofuel supply chain, including traceability and recordkeeping standards.

• Auditing and verification requirements.

• CSA practice standards for the biofuel feedstock crops included under the rule.

USDA is also publishing a beta version of the USDA Feedstock Carbon Intensity Calculator (USDA FD-CIC) to facilitate the quantification of farm-level crop-specific carbon intensity.

USDA FD-CIC allows for the calculation of a farm-scale carbon intensity in line with the standards in the interim rule.

USDA will complete a peer-review process to finalize the methodology and resulting carbon intensities included in USDA FD-CIC.

USDA will evaluate and respond to the public feedback and peer-review provided on USDA FD-CIC, after which USDA will establish a final version.

Until that time, users should consider values from USDA FD-CIC as preliminary.

As part of this process of testing and feedback prior to finalization, the public will have the opportunity to examine and download USDA FD-CIC to experience how it would operate.

USDA is requesting public comment on the interim rule to help inform future revisions or additions to the final rule.

Interested parties are welcome to submit comments on any aspect of the rule.

The interim rule will be posted for public inspection Jan. 16 on www.regulations.gov and will be published Jan. 17.

Interested parties may submit comments during the 60-day public comment period.

Click here to learn more about this interim rule.