(NDAgConnection.com) – North Dakota Farmers Union applauded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent action allowing canola oil to be used as a feedstock for renewable diesel under the Renewable Fuel Standard.

“Creating a pathway for increased production of canola-based renewable fuels is an important step forward in our country’s energy security,” said North Dakota Farmers Union President Mark Watne. “Canola is a great feedstock for renewable diesel and an important crop for producers in the Upper Great Plains.”

Watne said Farmers Union has long advocated for the elimination of regulatory barriers that prevent the expansion of ethanol blends and other renewable fuels. “We have the ability to grow an abundant source of fuel from the ground. That’s good for consumers, farmers and America,” he said.

In addition to renewable diesel, EPA also approved canola oil’s use as a feedstock for jet fuel, heating oil, naphtha, and liquefied petroleum gas.