USDA marks second-ever National Biobased Products Day

In Iowa, the US Department of Agriculture held its second National Biobased Products Day celebration on March 8, with a press conference highlighting the accomplishments of people and organizations working to improve sustainability.

USDA also marked the occasion by releasing two reports and announcing a National Institute of Food and Agriculture $10,000,000 investment in Oregon State University’s Global Hemp Innovation Center. The first report—An Economic Impact Analysis of the U.S. Biobased Products Industry: 2023 Update—shows that the biobased products industry has grown nationwide despite the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic. A second report, Hemp Research Needs Roadmap, reflects stakeholder input in identifying the hemp industry’s greatest research needs: breeding and genetics; best practices for production; biomanufacturing for end uses; and transparency and consistency.

 “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to supporting technological advances and innovations—biobased industries are a part of that,” Theresa Greenfield, USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa, said at the event.  “Across the state, these businesses provide new markets for farm commodities and add value to the Iowa economy.”