The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a final rule in its BioPreferred program, removing restrictions on mature market wood products and other materials and establishing procedures for designating “intermediate ingredients” and “complex assemblies.”
The 2014 Farm Bill requires the BioPreferred program to promote biobased products, including forest products, which apply an innovative approach to growing, harvesting, sourcing, procuring, processing, manufacturing or application of biobased products regardless of the date of entry into the marketplace, according to the USDA.
Products considered mature market products were previously barred, but now will be included in the program, if innovative approach is applied in any part of the life cycle of the product.
Intermediate ingredients procedures were added for biobased products in the preferred federal procurement process, along with procedures for complex assemblies that contain one or more components made from biobased ingredients.
The BioPreferred program spurs economic development. It creates new jobs, provides new markets for farm commodities, reduces America’s reliance on petroleum with the use of renewable agriculture resources and may contribute to reducing adverse environmental and health impacts.