Trump Issues Executive Order Backing Regenerative Agriculture

While calling for a reduction of pesticide use in agriculture, the order adds no new funding to federal initiatives. While calling for a reduction of pesticide use in agriculture, the order adds no new funding to federal initiatives. June 30, 2026 June 30, 2026 – President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that primarily repackages previous administration announcements into a directive to federal agencies to “advance regenerative agriculture” practices. Expand your understanding of food systems as a Civil Eats member. Enjoy unlimited access to our groundbreaking reporting, engage with experts, and connect with a community of changemakers. Already a member? Login The order, issued Thursday ostensibly in support of regenerative agriculture, adds no funding to federal initiatives. “My administration is committed to further actions that support farmers and ranchers as they seek to adopt these practices,” Trump wrote. The news comes as Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) supporters reckoned with a Supreme Court decision siding with pesticide giant Bayer in a case related to the cancer risks of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. The Trump administration had backed Bayer’s case in court. In the order, Trump calls on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prioritize reviews of pesticides that “can be used as alternatives to older active ingredients.” He also ordered research into a controversial practice where pesticides are sprayed on crops to dry them out just before harvest and also pushed for a research challenge related to cumulative exposure to chemicals in the food supply. The latter two items had already been announced by the administration in February and included $200 million in funding. The order also directs the secretary of Agriculture to expand the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Regenerative Pilot Program, an initiative first announced in December. Without new funding, it’s unclear what that expansion could look like, although the order mentions creating “public-private partnerships that can bring new capacity to producers interested in adopting regenerative practices.” The Regenerative Pilot Program integrates “whole-farm” planning into existing conservation programs that pay farmers to implement practices like planting cover crops and reducing tillage. While it’s positive to see the administration encouraging regenerative agriculture, said Jesse Womack, a conservation policy specialist at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, there is no clear commitment of new funding. The pilot program runs through the already highly competitive and popular Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Womack said these programs need more funding and staff to support the pilot program. The USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), which administers these programs, has seen a decline in staffing by about a quarter since the beginning of the second Trump administration. Many county-level offices now have no NRCS staff in place. Following the order, the USDA released a final Regenerative Feedstock Rule that aims to connect farmers adopting soil-health practices with enhanced prices in the biofuel market. The final rule lays out specific farming practices used for corn, soybeans, sorghum, and spring canola, alongside standards of measuring and verifying the carbon reductions tied to those practices. It provides a framework for farmers who implement the practices to verify and document the carbon footprint of their crops, which can give them a boost in selling feedstocks to biofuel producers, according to the announcement. Originally, a similar interim rule went into effect under the Biden administration as “Technical Guidelines for Climate-Smart Agriculture Crops Used as Biofuel Feedstocks.” The interim rule came out in January 2025, and was then subject to public comments. Along with other technical changes, the Trump administration’s final rule replaces references to “climate smart” agriculture or crops with “low-carbon” and “reduced carbon-intensity.” The Trump administration has pivoted away from referencing climate in federal government initiatives and websites. (Link to this post.) July 1, 2026 Through lessons in animal husbandry, Johnny O’Mara reconnects people to the sources of their sustenance. June 29, 2026 June 29, 2026 June 25, 2026 Like the story? Join the conversation.