We noted a few days ago that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer recently signed two bills granting algaculture an agricultural property tax rate and allowing it on Arizona trust land. In a recent USA Today op-ed two of the state’s algae industry experts chime in on their thoughts about this approach.
Gary Dirks, director of Arizona State University’s LightWorks initiative, and Dan Simon, president and CEO of Heliae Technology Holdings Inc. write:
“With the passage of these two Arizona bills, we will offer algae the same benefits as any other agricultural product grown in our state and enable us to build large-scale algae farming operations that will benefit Arizona citizens through high-paying jobs, increased tax base, additional investment capital and sustainable use of agricultural lands for generations to come.”
Read the entire op-ed at USA Today.