This year’s House farm bill provides the Biobased Market Program (Also known as the BioPreferred program) with $2 million in discretionary funding each year FY14-23 (down from $3 million in mandatory funding and $2 million in discretionary funding each year from FY14-18 in the 2014 farm bill).

The goal of the BioPreferred Program according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website “is to increase the purchase and use of biobased products” derived from plants and renewable materials such as crops and forestry materials (think plastic forks made from corn). The language in this year’s BioPreferred provision prohibits any further limitations on the procurement of wood-based products under the program.