A coalition of biofuel and renewable-power groups launched a campaign yesterday to fend off congressional efforts to slash the farm bill's energy programs.

The Agriculture Energy Coalition is urging Congress to keep the Agriculture Department in the energy business as lawmakers start writing the newest version of the farm bill.

"Private industry has spent billions of dollars researching and developing these exciting new technologies," said AEC co-director Lloyd Ritter in a statement. "But in order to bring these products to market on a scale that will significantly and positively impact our national energy portfolio, the federal government must stay the course."

Ritter, the founder and managing partner of the Washington, D.C., consulting firm Green Capitol LLC, helped write the 2002 farm bill's energy title as a Democratic senior counsel on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.

Programs launched by the 2002 law are in danger of being zeroed out in the 2012 bill. None has mandatory funding extending beyond next year (E&E Daily, July 21).

At issue are the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) and the Biorefinery Assistance Program.

The fiscal 2012 appropriations bill that the House passed last month eliminates BCAP and the refinery program and provided a fraction of this year's funding for REAP (E&ENews PM, June 16).

The coalition sent a letter to Senate appropriators yesterday urging them to support funding for the farm bill's energy provisions.

"The Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) is the only federal program in existence that supports farmers interested in producing new energy crop biomass feedstocks," says the letter signed by 20 biofuel and renewable-energy groups. "Robust funding for these programs in the Agriculture Appropriations Bill is a judicious investment."

Coalition members include the Biotechnology Industry Organization, Gevo, the Distributed Wind Energy Association, the Biomass Power Association, Novozymes and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

The coalition's other co-director, Ryan Stroschein, is a senior partner at Green Capitol and previously worked for the Air Transport Association and as legislative director and chief counsel for former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.).