By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent

NEWTON, Iowa — When USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson were in Iowa April 19 to meet with state biofuel officials for a roundtable discussion, the visit was a reality check on how U.S. farmers provide products necessary to develop and process renewable fuels.

“We applaud Secretary Vilsack and Administrator Jackson for their roles in implementing energy independence and clean air programs focused on enhancing advanced biofuels production and utilization,” said Daniel Oh, president and CEO of Newton-based Renewable Energy Group (REG). Oh opened the roundtable discussion, which was closed to the media.

Alongside Oh were Jeff Broin, CEO of POET in Emmetsburg, Iowa, Todd Becker, president and CEO of Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. in Omaha, Neb., Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey and several Iowa lawmakers.
“The growing cooperation between the ethanol and biodiesel industries will benefit the country by offsetting even more oil imports and holding down gas prices in coming years,” Broin told Vilsack and Jackson.

Becker said creating American jobs, “decreasing carbon emissions and strengthening our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil are very positive contributions from this country’s biofuels industry.
“Projects like our BioProcess Algae bioreactors in Shenandoah, Iowa, are paving the way for next-generation biofuels,” he said.

At the roundtable on the potential of inedible corn oils as a viable fuel source, Oh said REG’s 30 million gallons-per-year production facility – with more than 180 million gallons of owned/operated annual production capacity – is “proof that next-generation advanced biofuel is commercially-available today.”
Leading the tour, he showed Vilsack and Jackson the raw materials REG uses to produce biodiesel.

“This facility efficiently converts recycled and natural fats and oils into advanced biofuel which may be used in any diesel engine seamlessly,” he said. “Biodiesel production complements protein production by using the co-products and byproducts of meat and meal production.”

Later that day, Vilsack and Jackson visited Gordon Wassenaar’s 1,600-acre row crop farm in Prairie City, which he owns and operates. Wassenaar said soil conservation was foremost on his mind in his talk with Vilsack.

“We do things like this all the time,” he said. “We have visitors several times a year to talk about conservation, but they are usually international visitors.”
Jackson said “these opportunities to talk with farmers on their land and see their operations at work are incredibly valuable.

“Open communication and transparency are the essential first steps toward protecting air and water quality, and ensuring the health of farming communities. Agriculture is part of the foundation of the American economy.
“The EPA’s mission to safeguard clean air, clear water and productive land is a critical part of sustaining farming jobs and productivity, and it’s vital that we communicate and work together on these issues we share,” she added.

Last October, Vilsack was severely chastised by the nation’s largest farm groups for his open criticism of U.S. farmers’ livelihoods. Vilsack claimed that “agriculture no longer drives the rural economy” since “only 9 percent of all farm families’ income comes from farming” – a statement many farm groups said was inaccurate.

But last month’s trip to Newton seemed to have changed Vilsack’s views somewhat. “The farmers and ranchers we visited with today – and hundreds of thousands like them around the country – are our nation’s first and finest conservationists,” he said. “They understand better than anyone that you cannot continually take from the land without giving back, and they have taken incredible strides to protect the land they rely on.

“The USDA will continue to work hand-in-hand with EPA to ensure that both agencies are pursuing common-sense regulation that will let farmers make the decisions they feel are best for their own operations.”

With Congress considering trimming federal subsidies in nearly every sector of agriculture, Vilsack said the U.S. ethanol industry is “in need of a safety net.
“I think it’s fair to say there are questions being raised with high commodity prices, whether or not the payment system we have in place, particularly for those who are doing very, very well, whether or not that’s the right way to approach a safety net,” he said.

“There’s no disagreement that we need a safety net. The question is: is it a safety net that provides payments every year regardless of how good times are, or is it a safety net that really helps you out when you absolutely need help? And as we enter the 2012 farm bill, that is going to be the focus of the discussion.”

The tour also included a trip to fourth-generation Marion County farmer Monty Collins’ 104-year old Century Farm in rural Pleasantville. Collins, who’s also an FFA advisor at Pleasantville High School, shared with the group, which included some of his students, his practices of rotating grazing land used by his cattle.