Trump invites farmers, biofuels producers to White House event
Source: Reuters
March 17, 2026 7:30 AM EDT Updated 1 hour ago
March 17 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has invited farmers and biofuel producers to an agriculture event at the White House next week, two sources familiar with the planning said, as his administration moves to finalize new biofuel blending quotas. The administration is preparing to finalize long-delayed biofuel blending quotas for 2026 and 2027 by the end of the month, a decision with sweeping implications across the U.S. energy and agricultural sectors.
It is unclear whether the event, first reported by CBS News, will coincide with the final rule being released. Last year, the administration proposed significantly boosting the amount of renewable fuel that must be blended into the nation’s fuel supply under the Renewable Fuel Standard, raising the total mandate to about 24.02 billion gallons in 2026 and 24.46 billion gallons in 2027, up from 22.33 billion gallons required in 2025.
U.S. refiners are making a last-minute push to persuade the administration to temper those increases, arguing that higher blending requirements could add to fuel price pressures at a time when the White House is already concerned about potential spikes tied to the conflict with Iran, according to multiple interviews with industry executives. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The biofuel decision comes at a fraught moment for both the oil and farm sectors, with the White House balancing pressure from refiners worried about gasoline prices and farmers counting on stronger biofuel demand to support crop markets.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/trump-invites-farmers-biofuels-producers-white-house-event-cbs-news-reports-2026-03-17/
Did they get their $12 billion yet? I spotted an article from January about how much they would get -
By Josh Funk and Didi Tang
Jan. 2, 2026 9:18 AM PT
(snip)
The aid payments will be capped at $155,000 per farmer or entity, and only farms that make less than $900,000 in adjusted gross income will be eligible. During the first Trump administration, a number of large farms found ways around the payment limits and collected millions.
The USDA says the average size of the 1.88 million farms nationwide was 466 acres last year, but many farms are much larger than that as larger operations have continued to buy up neighboring farms over time.
(snip)
(and it linked to USDA's per acre subsidy - USDA Announces Commodity Payment Rates for Farmer Bridge Assistance Program)