ASA Leaders Meet with USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack
 at his office in Washington, D.C.

On Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, American Soybean Association (ASA) President Johnny Dodson, Chairman John Hoffman and First Vice President Rob Joslin met with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in his office at the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. This meeting provided an opportunity for ASA leaders to brief the new Ag Secretary on top issues of importance to all U.S. soybean farmers.

ASA emphasized the importance of regulatory issues currently pending with the new Administration that will cover payments to domestic biodiesel producers under the new Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels, availability of the biobased products label for all soy-based products to help pull them into the market, and determination of indirect land use by the Environmental Protection Agency that could negatively affect biodiesel eligibility under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). Legislation enacted last year requires EPA to take indirect land use into account and some studies argue that soybean oil use in U.S. biodiesel production displaces rain forest and land in other countries, including Brazil and Malaysia.

ASA is strongly opposing this approach and is working with the National Oilseed Processors Association, National Biodiesel Board and others to modify this provision in the pending rule. Secretary Vilsack stated that he understands the importance of this issue and has consulted with the EPA Administrator to ensure that the formula for including indirect land use as an RFS factor will not disqualify biodiesel and other U.S.-produced biofuels. ASA is also working to obtain long-term enactment of the biodiesel tax credit before it expires on Dec. 31, 2009. 

ASA leaders also discussed the importance of completing registration of LibertyLink® and Roundup Ready 2 Yield™ soybeans by South Korea prior to commercializing these new biotech events with the 2009 crop. Vilsack, former Iowa Governor, is the nation’s 30th Secretary of Agriculture.

Following the meeting with Secretary Vilsack, ASA Policy Communications Contractor Paul Weller organized a post-conference press briefing in the Secretary’s conference room. Hoffman and Joslin briefed and fielded questions from Chris Doering, Thomson-Reuters News Service; Jonathan Harsch, AgriPulse News Service; Alan Bjerja, Bloomberg News Service; Bill Thompson, Dow-Jones News Service; and Chuck Abbott, Reuters News Service.

Source: ASA Weekly Leader Letter.