Fair and well-functioning markets for crop-based biofuels are critical to the U.S. Farm sector, and to ensuring the administration priority of dominance of domestic energy markets

This CO-operative agreement, in support of this administration priority, seeks to a) expand domestic energy supplies and b) boost U.S. Commodity access to rapidly growing markets for aviation fuels. Specifically, IT will bolster USDA efforts to resolve, reduce or reverse a competitive disadvantage for U.S. Farmers from brazil in international biofuel markets. The U.S. Agricultural sector has been hindered by a lack of peer-reviewed publications to refute assertions that brazilian corn feedstocks have less effect on land use change than U.S. Farmers. Under this agreement, USDA will collaborate with researchers at the university of vermont, using a newly developed and unique land cover database on corn areas, to rigorously analyze the effects of expanding biofuel production in brazil on deforestation. Deliverables associated with this CO-operative agreement include academic publications, written reports and in-person briefings to lawmakers, their staff, and USDA leadership detailing (i) past and (II) projected will use the results of this project to as evidence in international biofuel negotiations that U.S. Commodities are being scored unscientifically relative to brazil commodities.