During a White House event Friday, billed as the “Great American Agriculture Celebration,” President Donald Trump announced that EPA has finalized the Renewable Fuel Standard volume obligations for 2026 and 2027. He said the new rule will require the highest volumes of renewable fuels “in history.”
“The 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,” Trump said. “It’s come right out of the farms.”
According to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, the new “Set 2” rule will create a “$31 billion value” for U.S. corn and soybean oil for biofuel production in 2026. That, she said, is $2 billion more than in 2025.
Rollins said farmers are “stepping up to grow American energy dominance,” calling Friday’s announcement “truly historic.”
“These numbers represent the highest levels of biofuels ever required to be blended into our fuel supply,” she said. “With President Trump and Administrator [Lee] Zeldin’s leadership, these historically high volumes are expected to create a $3 [billion] to $4 billion increase in net farm income.”
Geoff Cooper, CEO and president of the Renewable Fuels Association, said Friday’s announcement on the Renewable Fuel Standard volume obligations will boost the farm economy, strengthen American energy security and reduce fuel prices.
“At a time when American consumers are looking for relief at the pump and hard-hit farmers are looking for new demand opportunities, we commend EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Donald Trump for delivering robust RFS volume requirements for 2026 and 2027,” Cooper said in a press release. “The final rule locks in the highest-ever renewable fuel volume obligations and provides clarity for farmers, ethanol producers, oil refiners and fuel distributors alike.”
Cooper said the Renewable Fuels Association had hoped the new rule would reallocate small-refinery exemptions issued in 2023-25. Still, he said the 70% reallocation included in Friday’s rule was better than the 50% previously proposed by EPA.
“We continue to believe small-refinery exemptions are completely unjustified, and the SRE petition process — including EPA’s reliance on the Department of Energy’s ‘scoring matrix’ — is fundamentally flawed,” Cooper said. “SREs distort the market, undermine fair competition and destabilize the RFS program.
Fuel producers warn of higher prices
Officials with American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, a trade group representing fuel manufacturers, warned that the new RFS will raise costs.
“It’s baffling, with fuel prices already rising due to the conflict in Iran, that EPA is finalizing a rule that will make things far worse for consumers,” AFPM President Chet Thompson said in a Friday release. “The RFS already costs nearly 25 cents per gallon, and today’s rule will undoubtedly add tens of billions more. This is not what energy dominance looks like.”
New loan guarantees for farmers
To bring down grocery prices, Trump also announced that the Small Business Administration will open up “massive new loan guarantees” for farmers and food producers. The president said eligible recipients would include vegetable farmers, grape farmers, seed farmers, cattle producers, pig producers, poultry producers, grocery producers and “many more.” He did not offer additional details on the loan program.
“Kelly, you better get ready,” Trump said to SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. “You’re going to be inundated, right?”