The 2007 Farm Bill: Policy Recommendations for Integrated Renewable Energy Production

This policy report by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) provides recommendations for the 2007 Farm Bill to better integrate renewable energy production into US agriculture policy. The authors argue that agriculture policy should be viewed as energy policy to boost rural income, enhance national security, and mitigate climate change. The report identifies a significant gap between the authorization of energy programs in the 2002 Farm Bill and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the actual appropriations provided to implement them, calling for a transition toward a diversified agriculture portfolio that prioritizes sustainable biomass, local ownership of biorefineries, and expanded research and education.

• There is a systemic disconnect between the authorization of renewable energy programs and their actual funding. Many programs authorized under the 2002 Farm Bill and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 have either never received funding or have seen their budgets drastically reduced by the President's budget.
• The report recommends a comprehensive national education and outreach strategy to overcome barriers to renewable energy acceptance. This includes fully funding a consumer education program for biofuels and biobased products at $1 million for FY08-12 and integrating renewable energy into K-12 and higher education curricula.
• To ensure the sustainability of bioenergy, the report calls for targeted research in four areas: national biomass assessments on a state/regional basis, sustainable production practices, the environmental impacts of biomass facilities, and carbon sequestration pilot projects.
• The report emphasizes the need for rural economic development that prioritizes local and small-scale ownership of biorefineries over large corporate entities. It notes that farmer-owned ethanol plants provide 56 percent more contribution to the local community than absentee-owned corporate plants.
• The authors propose several mechanisms to incentivize the production of cellulosic energy crops, including expanding the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), creating a new cellulosic-specific energy crop program, or amending the Conservation Security Program (CSP).
• The report suggests that the federal government can transform the market for biobased products by increasing funding for the Federal Procurement of Biobased Products Program from $1 million to $3 million per year for FY08-12 and expanding the designation of 'intermediate materials'.
• Beyond the Farm Bill, the report recommends broader energy policies to ensure grid reliability and market access, including a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requiring 25 percent renewable energy by 2025 and the creation of a thermal power credit similar to the Production Tax Credit.

APA

Wong, J. L., & Werner, C. (2007). The 2007 Farm Bill: Policy Recommendations for Integrated Renewable Energy Production. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/files/eesi_farm_bill_recommendations_051107.pdf

Chicago

Wong, Jetta L., and Carol Werner. The 2007 Farm Bill: Policy Recommendations for Integrated Renewable Energy Production. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2007. https://www.eesi.org/files/eesi_farm_bill_recommendations_051107.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wong |first1=Jetta L. |last2=Werner |first2=Carol |title=The 2007 Farm Bill: Policy Recommendations for Integrated Renewable Energy Production |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=11 May 2007 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/eesi_farm_bill_recommendations_051107.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wong20072007, author = {Wong, Jetta L. and Werner, Carol}, title = {{The 2007 Farm Bill: Policy Recommendations for Integrated Renewable Energy Production}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2007}, month = may, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/eesi_farm_bill_recommendations_051107.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }