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Union County Farmer, Assistant Director of Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center, Testified Before Agriculture Committee on Biobased Manufacturing Jobs in Ohio

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced that an additional 14 biobased product categories have received a designation that makes them eligible for federal procurement preference. The move expands business opportunities for Ohio-manufactured products made with agricultural products. Already, more than 70 Ohio companies manufacturing biobased products are eligible for preferred federal procurement under the USDA’s biopreferred program. Ohio was the first state in the country to adopt a biobased procurement program—based largely on the Federal BioPreferred program—which requires state purchasing preference for bioproducts when available. 

“Our state’s economic recovery will be led by two of our strongest industries: agriculture and manufacturing,” Brown said. “And the biobased industry links these sectors to make new products, ranging from biobased paint, to soy ink and toner.  With the Federal BioPreferred program, we can create new market opportunities for Ohio farmers, while strengthening Ohio’s growing biobased industry and creating jobs throughout our state.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) BioPreferred program’s Round 7 finalization adds 2,500 biobased products for a total of more than 8,900 products now offered for preferred purchasing consideration by federal government agencies and contractors. The final rule, published in the Federal Register on Friday, July 22, is part of a series of rules to designate biobased items.

Biobased products are composed wholly or significantly of biological ingredients—renewable plant, animal, marine, or forestry materials. A BioPreferred designated item is one that meets or exceeds USDA established minimum biobased content requirements.

The BioPreferred program was created by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (2002 Farm Bill) as a preferred procurement program for federal agencies and a voluntary labeling program for broad scale marketing of biobased products.

The BioPreferred program has two major components: product labeling and federal procurement preference.  The labeling component involves USDA certification and award of labels to qualifying products to increase consumer recognition of biobased products.  The federal procurement preference requires USDA designation of categories of biobased product that are afforded preference by Federal agencies when making purchasing decisions.  Additionally, the USDA has created one-stop-shop, online catalogs of products for both BioPreferred initiatives. 

Earlier this month, Brown, chair of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Jobs, Rural Economic Growth, and Energy, attended an Agriculture hearing where Denny Hall, a sixth-generation farmer from Union County and the assistant director of the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center (OBIC), testified before the committee. Read Brown’s statement here.

Below is a list of Ohio companies that manufacture biobased products.

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