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Trump, USDA finalize regenerative feedstock rule

  • Market: Agriculture, Biofuels
  • 29/06/26

US president Donald Trump on 25 June signed an executive order mobilizing federal agencies to support farmers in utilizing regenerative farming practices through significant investment, a reduction in red tape, and finalized regenerative feedstock rule standards.

US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins concurrently announced the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) final regenerative feedstock rule, intended to "help farmers voluntarily capture new value from regenerative agricultural practices through biofuel markets."

Rather than mandating regenerative agricultural practices, farmers who voluntarily decide to utilize them will have the opportunity to "earn premium prices, lower their input costs, improve soil health, and strengthen the long-term profitability of their operations."

The final regenerative feedstock rule has set five high-level parameters connecting these practices to the corn, soybean, sorghum, and spring canola markets for biofuels production. The standards pertain to which crops and entities are qualified, how climate benefits are quantified, how regenerative grain will be tracked through the supply chain, which specific practices qualify as regenerative, and who will verify program requirements.

The USDA formally published its technical guidelines for the production of regenerative agricultural biofuel feedstocks on 29 June, effective immediately. The department intends to expand premium market opportunities as participation increases.

The exact financial benefit of prioritizing regeneratively-produced feedstocks on a biofuel producer's claim to the "45Z" clean fuel production tax credit remains unclear until the Department of Energy incorporates the new standards into its model for tracking greenhouse gas emissions.

The USDA also released its updated feedstock carbon intensity calculator (FD-CIC) to assist farmers in quantifying their employed regenerative practices when marketing their biofuels feedstocks to eligible producers. The department added that 68pc of corn farmers and 70pc of soybean farmers have already implemented at least one form of regenerative agriculture, defined as "a conservation management approach that emphasizes natural resources through improved soil health, water management, and natural vitality for the productivity and prosperity of American agriculture and communities."

Trump's ‘Advancing Regenerative Agriculture and Strengthening American Farm Resilience' executive order also encourages Rollins and the USDA to maximize the $700mn in funding dedicated to the regenerative pilot program in December 2025 and develop new public-private partnerships that "bring new capacity to producers interested in adopting regenerative practices."


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