Photo by Yandle. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

As expected, Congress made sure the Farm Bill (actually called the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008) became law yesterday despite some sort of clerical error that resulted in a number of pages being dropped from the final version. Democrats were embarrassed. The Senate voted 82 to 13 to override President Bush's veto. The Farm Bill contains a lot of biofuel-friendly sections, as we detailed the other day. To mention a few of the provisions: Cellulosic ethanol producers have their eye on $348m in new tax credits for the second-generation biofuel. The bill also includes grants worth $320m to build biorefineries to make advanced biofuels and $70m for farmers to grow switchgrass for energy.

So, who's happy about the new law? A good number of people, including Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, who said the energy "programs are good for all Americans -- they are a win-win-win for our energy security, environment, and economy." Farm Press talked to a handful of economists and found the bill to be a "mixed bag."

[Source: WaPo, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Farm Press, AP]

Photo by Yandle. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

President Bush vetoed the five-year, $289 billion Farm Bill today, saying it was too expensive in the current economic climate. Congress passed the bill by wide margins last week, and, as Bloomberg notes, a veto override is likely. So, what does this have to do with us here on AutoblogGreen? Biofuels, natch.

As the Des Moines Register notes, the Farm Bill has a lot to say about non-food crop ethanol. For one thing, there is a $1.01 per gallon tax credit for cellulosic ethanol (I'm sure Mascoma, Coskata, and other cellulosic ethanol pioneers are happy to hear that). The current 51 cent subsidy on each gallon of corn ethanol will drop to 45 cents. Second, relatedly, the 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on ethanol imports will remain through 2010. Third, farmers who collect biomass to be used to make ethanol will get a $45 subsidy for each ton they collect (there is a two-year limit on earning this subsidy). Fourth, there is money set aside for biomass research ($118m, to be exact).

[Source: Des Moines Register]

Responding to a question from a reader in Pennsylvania, Jetta Wong has written an update on the 2007 Farm Bill over at Renewable Energy Access. This bill, as we've written before, has a lot to do with topics AutoblogGreen readers care about because it affects how biofuels might be grown in America in the coming years. As Americans get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, it's a good time to take a look at the bill that defines so much for the farmers and agribusinesses in this country.

The Farm Bill is a pentannual (I think that's a word) piece of legislation that deals with pretty much everything related to growing crops: pest control, subsidies, ethanol, food stamps, etc. The current status is that the bill is basically dead because the U.S. Senate voted to cut off debate on the Farm Bill five days ago. Wong's article gives a good recap of how we got to where are today, and says that with the current bill dead, it's looking like there might be a one-year or maybe two-year extension added to the current bill to give lawmakers more time to hem and haw.

The U.S. government's website about the bill is here. The Wikipedia hive mind version is here.

Related:

• Congressional farm bill makes us fat and use the wrong fuels

[Source: REA]