Federal Purchasing Requirement
The 2002, 2008, and 2014 Farm Bills established a biobased markets program to increase the purchase and use of biobased products. USDA, the lead agency for this part of the Farm Bill, refers to the program as BioPreferred® program.
The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13 contains specific requirements for the purchase of biobased products as required by the 2002 Farm Bill. Biobased Section 9002 of the 2008 Farm Bill requires Federal agencies to purchase biobased products identified for a Federal Procurement Preference, except as provided in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 23.404 (b).
An electronic catalog of biobased products is published by USDA's BioPreferred® program to identify products that are eligible for preferred Federal purchasing, and to identify products whose biobased content has been independently laboratory tested and third-party certified. Company and/or product inclusion in this catalog in no way represents any actual, implied or inferred endorsement by USDA. It is suggested that Federal Government purchasers, commercial buyers, and consumers use the same care in investigating the companies listed as you would with other suppliers before signing contracts or making product purchases.