A marathon farm bill markup continued in the House today with approval of a new program that would set up "energy-independent" research farms across the country.

The amendment was part of the House Agriculture Committee's ongoing work on a new farm bill to oversee energy, conservation and crop payments on U.S. farmland for the next five years. Final passage of the bill is expected later today.

The committee has so far avoided substantive changes to Chairman Collin Peterson's (D-Minn.) energy title in today's debate. The underlying bill would extend current programs for biomass research and assistance for energy production or energy efficiency on farms. It includes $1 million to study the potential for an ethanol pipeline and a provision to allow the Agriculture Department to buy excess sugar from producers, then sell it to ethanol plants.

The underlying bill also includes $2 billion in loan guarantees for biorefineries and biofuels. The Energy Department currently has authority for loan guarantees for cellulosic ethanol plants, but Agriculture Committee members think USDA would handle it better.

The panel did approve an amendment from Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) today that would set up five energy-independent farm demonstration projects in different parts of the country. Barrow said each farm would "act as an independent laboratory," where farmers or graduate students could learn more about new technologies to produce or conserve energy on the farm.

Separately, Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) withdrew an amendment that would have started a federal "Green American Energy Farm" certification program for farms that rely on manure-to-energy projects, solar or wind power. Committee members said they supported the concept but thought certification might be better left to the private sector.

A proposal to include looking into the effect of food prices in the ethanol pipeline study was also left on the cutting-room floor.

Many of the new programs and big spending increases for energy programs are in Peterson's "en-bloc" amendment, which relies on offsets from other areas of spending. That amendment is up for debate and consideration later today. The committee plans to include Peterson's increases in the farm bill on the floor, once the offsets are approved.

The en-bloc amendment brings with it a nearly six-fold increase for grants and loans that help farmers start energy projects or improve energy efficiency on their farms, a new $1.5 billion bioenergy program and $2 billion in loan guarantees for biorefineries. It also includes Peterson's biomass energy reserve, a pilot program for cellulosic ethanol.

Sodsaver

The committee approved an amendment from Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) that shores up restrictions when farmers can plow up native grassland.

The underlying bill blocks crop insurance for any crop that farmers would plant over native grassland, with one exemption -- county committees can waive the restrictions. The South Dakota Democrat's amendment strikes the committee's ability to waive the restrictions.

"It has potential to undermine the protection," she said of the exemption.

Conservation groups had asked the committee for an all-out ban on plowing up the native grasslands that provide habitat for birds and other wildlife. Peterson called that a "Gestapo deal" today, but he supported Sandlin's language to strengthen the crop insurance prohibition.

"People should not be breaking land unless they can do it without help," Peterson said.