Hundreds of farmers and ranchers representing various regions and commodities joined President Donald Trump on the south lawn of the White House Friday to hear him make several announcements related to agriculture, including addressing Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) system complaints, and finalizing historically high Renewable Fuel Standard volume obligations.
“I’m also announcing a dramatic update to the Renewable fuel standards for 2026 and 2027,” said President Trump. “We will now be requiring the highest volumes of renewable fuels in history. These new standards will generate over $10 billion of rural economic benefit, create an estimated 100,000 new jobs, and massively increase our nation’s energy supply. It’ll come right out of the farms.”
EPA is also finalizing a 70 percent partial reallocation of the 2023–2025 exempted Renewable Volume Obligations for the 2026 and 2027 compliance years. This approach will balance a number of factors that come into play when considering volume requirements and the impacts of SREs, including protecting biofuel demand while maintaining a stable and functioning credit market.
EPA is announcing that starting in 2028, foreign fuels and feedstocks will receive half the RFS compliance value compared to American-made products, providing American biofuel producers with time to prepare for the change while ensuring that American farmers benefit from the RFS program and American energy independence.
President Trump also mentioned the E15 action taken by EPA earlier this week and urged Congress to make it permanent. “To help lower gasoline prices for farmers and consumers, this week I issued an emergency order to allow immediate sales of E15. And just as I promised in the campaign, I’m seeking congressional action to allow E15 all year round, okay? And I’m trusting Speaker Johnson and Leader Thune, they’re two good men. I’m trusting them to find a deal that works for farmers, consumers, and refiners, including small and mid-sized refiners. And they’re going to send me a bill, and we should be able to get that done. We’ve worked with the refiners before, and we’re going to get that done.”
Listen to all of Trump’s comments to farmers and ranchers here:
President Trump speaks to farmers at White House 35:47