April 14, 2010
www.gfb.org
Vol. 28 No. 15
GEORGIA FARM BUREAU REQUESTS REFINEMENTS TO BCAP PROGRAM
Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall last week submitted comments to the Farm Service Agency (FSA) suggesting changes in the way BCAP is implemented to ensure that landowners and producers of biomass materials receive a more significant portion of the funds from the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). In a letter to Robert Stephenson, director of the USDA’s Conservation and Environmental Programs Division (CEPD), Duvall said BCAP is a valuable resource for GFB members who want to participate in the business of developing alternative fuels, but he expressed several concerns over the BCAP program, which was funded under the 2008 farm bill and intended to help agricultural and forest landowners with collection, harvest, storage and transportation of eligible material for use in biomass conversion facilities. Duvall said most landowners and agricultural producers are unaware of the BCAP program and are not receiving most of the BCAP payments issued in Georgia. To remedy this, he suggested that the FSA launch a more intensive educational program at the local level to ensure that landowners and producers are aware of BCAP options before they decide how to approach removal of eligible biomass materials. He expressed concerns that the BCAP payments are artificially reducing market prices for biomass materials, allowing providers to sell at a reduced rate, saying, “A lower market price tends to reduce landowner incentives to provide biomass materials exactly opposite from what Congress intended.” Noting reports of questionable activities involving the BCAP program, Duvall communicated GFB’s support of strong enforcement efforts to prevent abuses of the program. He also shared the concern of GFB membership over some of the items on the BCAP eligible materials list. By the program’s design, materials with higher value in other market sectors are to be excluded from BCAP payments. Duvall said that some items listed as eligible should actually be excluded under that criteria, specifically bark, a principle ingredient in potting soils and thus crucial to the horticulture industry, which was included on the eligible materials list. Duvall asked that bark be excluded from the eligible items list, arguing that extensive sales of bark for biomass use under the BCAP program might result in shortages that would cause economic harm to the horticulture industry.