On 25 June 2026 in Washington, US Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins announced a final Regenerative Feedstock Rule, the same day President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14414 on advancing regenerative agriculture. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said the rule is meant to help farmers voluntarily earn more for grain grown with soil-conserving practices by selling it into biofuel markets.
What the rule sets out
According to USDA, the rule creates a framework connecting regenerative practices to new markets in the biofuel supply chain for four crops: corn, soybeans, sorghum and spring canola. Its standards cover:
- which biofuel feedstock crops and which participants along the supply chain are included;
- field-level measurement of crop-specific carbon intensity;
- mass balance chain-of-custody rules, including traceability and recordkeeping;
- auditing and verification requirements;
- regenerative practice standards for the covered crops.
Carbon intensity is the total greenhouse gas emissions, in carbon dioxide equivalent, per bushel of crop produced. USDA explained the idea in an interim rule published in the Federal Register in January 2025, which noted that crop production releases emissions from sources including soil carbon lost during tillage and nitrous oxide from fertiliser use.
The calculator and the field practices
Alongside the rule, USDA said it was releasing an updated USDA Feedstock Carbon Intensity Calculator (USDA FD-CIC). Farmers can use it to quantify practices such as cover crops (plants grown to keep the soil covered between cash crops), improved nutrient management and conservation tillage, including no-till and reduced tillage. They can then use the resulting reports when marketing eligible crops to participating biofuel producers.
"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," Rollins said.
How many farmers could take part
USDA said American farmers produce about 6 billion bushels of corn a year that is used for ethanol and about 1.8 billion bushels of soybeans for biofuel. It said 68 per cent of corn farmers and 70 per cent of soybean farmers already use at least one regenerative practice, and that it expected premium market opportunities to grow as participation increases.
The executive order and the Regenerative Pilot Program
The order, published by the White House, directs the Agriculture Secretary to maximise funding for the existing Regenerative Pilot Program, share its results widely and use existing authorities to build public-private partnerships for farmers adopting regenerative practices. It also tells the Environmental Protection Agency to prioritise registering alternatives to older crop protection chemicals.
USDA launched the $700 million pilot on 10 December 2025. Run by its Natural Resources Conservation Service, it lets farmers bundle several regenerative practices for the whole farm into a single application, with $400 million from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and $300 million from the Conservation Stewardship Program for the first year. In its 25 June announcement, USDA said the pilot had completed more than 67,000 whole-farm conservation plans covering over 49 million acres, and more than 1,500 conservation contracts worth over $200 million.
On the day of the announcement, USDA said more information on the rule and the calculator would be posted on its website once the rule appeared in the Federal Register.
Photo: USDA NRCS South Dakota / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Sources: USDA (US Department of Agriculture), The White House (Executive Order 14414 and fact sheet), USDA Regenerative Pilot Program announcement (December 2025), Federal Register
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