Washington, June 25, 2026 – On the heels of President Donald J. Trump signing an Executive Order advancing regenerative agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke L. Rollins simultaneously announced a final Regenerative Feedstock Rule, a landmark action that will help farmers voluntarily capture new value from regenerative agricultural practices through biofuel markets.
The announcement builds upon President Trump’s historic record of support for American agriculture and domestic biofuels. From delivering nationwide year-round E15, establishing the highest Renewable Volume Obligations in American history, and extending the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit through the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, the Trump Administration has consistently expanded markets for America’s farmers while strengthening U.S. energy independence. Today’s Executive Order and USDA’s Regenerative Feedstock Rule provide the next critical step by ensuring producers have a practical pathway to benefit from those expanding markets.
“Today’s USDA’s Regenerative Feedstock Rule put farmers, not Washington bureaucrats, in the driver’s seat. Instead of mandates, we’re creating market opportunities. Farmers who choose to implement regenerative practices will have new opportunities to earn premium prices, lower their input costs, improve soil health, and strengthen the long-term profitability of their operations,” said Secretary Rollins. This is exactly what President Trump’s America First agenda looks like: empowering farmers and ranchers, supporting rural communities, driving lower input costs, improving farmer profitability, advancing regenerative agriculture, and helping Make America Healthy Again.”
Together, President Trump’s Executive Order and USDA’s Regenerative Feedstock Rule represent the most significant market-driven effort ever undertaken to reward America’s farmers for voluntarily implementing regenerative practices while producing the crops that fuel America’s growing bioeconomy.
The Regenerative Feedstock Rule establishes a framework to connect regenerative agriculture practices to new markets within the biofuel supply chain for corn, soybeans, sorghum, and spring canola. These standards include:
- Covered biofuel feedstock crops and participating entities throughout the supply chain;
- Field-level quantification of crop-specific carbon intensity;
- Mass balance chain-of-custody standards, including traceability and recordkeeping;
- Auditing and verification requirements; and
- Regenerative agriculture practice standards for covered feedstock crops.
USDA is also releasing an updated USDA Feedstock Carbon Intensity Calculator (USDA FD-CIC) to help producers quantify regenerative practices such as cover crops, and improved nutrient management, and conservation tillage—including no-till and reduced tillage. Producers can use the resulting reports when marketing eligible feedstocks to participating biofuel producers.
The new framework creates significant opportunities for America’s leading biofuel feedstock producers. American farmers currently produce approximately 6 billion bushels of corn used annually for ethanol production, with 68 percent of corn farmers already implementing at least one regenerative practice. Likewise, producers grow approximately 1.8 billion bushels of soybeans for biofuel production, while 70 percent of soybean farmers already utilize at least one regenerative practice. As participation grows, USDA expects the rule to expand premium market opportunities for producers across the country.
The Regenerative Feedstock Rule supports President Trump’s broader agenda to strengthen rural America by expanding domestic markets, promoting American energy dominance, reducing regulatory burdens, encouraging regenerative agriculture, and ensuring America’s farmers remain the most productive and competitive in the world.
These actions build on USDA’s Regenerative Pilot Program that provided $700 million to help American farmers adopt practices that improve soil health, enhance water quality, and boost long-term productivity, all while strengthening America’s food and fiber supply. Under this pilot USDA has already completed over 67,000 whole farm conservation plans, covering more than 49 million acres and over 1,500 conservation contracts worth more than $200 million.
Additional information about the Regenerative Feedstock Rule and the USDA Feedstock Carbon Intensity Calculator will be available at USDA.gov once posted to the Federal Register.
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