The US Department of Agriculture issued a final Regenerative Feedstock Rule on 25 June, alongside a presidential executive order on regenerative agriculture, creating a route for farmers to be paid more for grain grown with certain soil practices.

The rule establishes a framework connecting regenerative practices to biofuel supply chains for four crops: corn, soybeans, sorghum and spring canola. A farmer who uses cover crops, improved nutrient management or conservation tillage — including no-till and reduced tillage — can document the effect and carry that documentation to a participating biofuel producer.

The documentation runs through an updated USDA Feedstock Carbon Intensity Calculator. Lower carbon intensity is what a biofuel producer needs to claim certain fuel credits, so the calculator is the mechanism that turns a field practice into a price.

"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," said Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins.

The scale is substantial. The department says American farmers grow roughly 6 billion bushels of corn a year for ethanol and about 1.8 billion bushels of soybeans for biofuel, and that 68 per cent of corn growers and 70 per cent of soybean growers already use at least one regenerative practice — meaning many could qualify without changing what they do.

The rule follows a Regenerative Pilot Program that put $700 million toward soil health and water quality practices. The department says that pilot has 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.

Further detail on the rule and the calculator is to be published once the rule appears in the Federal Register.

Source: USDA