Washington—Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Feb. 25 that he will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to encourage the continued development of bio-based products for energy consumption, animal feed, chemicals and other uses.

"This agreement will strengthen public, private and academic partnerships that are essential to bio-based industries," Vilsack said.

"It is important that we work together to encourage the development of more bio-based products.

"Not only will this reduce our nation's dependence on imported oil, it also will lead to a cleaner, healthier environment."

Vilsack will sign the MOU with the Governors' Biofuels Coalition, which was originally formed to provide leadership on ethanol policy development but has since expanded to address issues related to biodiesel, advanced biofuels and other products derived from renewable sources.

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