Twenty-eight agricultural groups urged Trump administration officials to clarify the 45Z Clean Fuels Production tax credit rules to support struggling farmers and biofuel markets.
Todd Neeley
DTN Environmental Editor
DTN Environmental Editor Todd Neeley is a lifelong resident of Lincoln, Nebraska, and a 1994 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he earned a bachelor's degree in news editorial.
Neeley worked as a reporter and photographer with the weekly newspaper The Milford Times in southeast Nebraska until 2002. He then went to work as the government reporter for The Hastings Tribune in central Nebraska, where he covered the Nebraska Legislature and city and county government. Neeley was hired as a staff reporter at DTN in August 2004, where he has worked on numerous in-depth reporting projects, covered the ethanol and crop insurance beats. He is now an environmental reporter for DTN, covering Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act and other issues important to farmers.
During his 18-year career, Neeley has earned more than 50 state and national awards for reporting and writing. In 2010 he was a Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award finalist for a series of stories on ethanol and oil subsidies.
Recent Blogs by Author
-
-
Six biofuel associations urged President Donald Trump to finalize Renewable Fuel Standard volumes, arguing domestic biodiesel and renewable diesel can offset diesel supply disruptions caused by...
More From This Author
-
Florida Lab Meat Ban Survives Appeal
A federal appeals court upheld Florida's lab-grown meat ban, ruling against Upside Foods' preliminary injunction request.
-
EPA Gives 5th Straight E15 Fuel Waiver
The EPA granted a fifth consecutive summer waiver allowing E15 ethanol sales to continue in 2026, while the industry pushes Congress for permanent year-round approval.
-
Landwatch Weekly
Recent Sales Results From Osborne and Russell counties, Kansas; Grant County, Minnesota; Grand Forks County, North Dakota; and Union County, South Dakota
-
Nebraska Farmland Values Fall Again
Nebraska farmland values fell 1% to $3,905 per acre in 2026, driven by low crop prices and high input costs, while livestock and grazing land values rose.
-
McBee Asset Fraud Case Moves Forward
Reality TV farmer Steve McBee's lawsuit continues after a court rejected his family's dismissal motion, alleging he fraudulently transferred business assets to sons to evade a $4 million judgment.
-
Oklahoma Red River Land Claim Blocked
An Oklahoma county court dismissed a landowner's quiet title lawsuit seeking to claim Texas land gained through natural soil accretion along the Red River border.
-
Agridime's Joshua Link Captured at LAX
Former Agridime LLC executive Joshua Link was captured by federal authorities at the Los Angeles International Airport last week.
-
Hansen-Mueller Chapter 11 Extension
Hansen-Mueller Co. has requested a 120-day extension of its Chapter 11 exclusivity period, citing 557 unresolved grain-producer claims that prevent completing its bankruptcy reorganization plan.
-
US Farmland Landlords Aren't Farmers
USDA finds most U.S. farmland is rented out by non-farming landlords with limited acres expected for sale, aging owners and rising rental income since 2014.
-
Landwatch Weekly
Recent Sales Results From DeKalb County, Illinois, Jasper County, Iowa; Linn County, Missouri; and Hamilton County, Nebraska
-
$1.1M Penalty for Chevron in RFS Fraud
Chevron agreed to pay a $1.1 million civil penalty after admitting it invalidly generated over 2.2 million biofuels credits under the Renewable Fuel Standard and sold them to a third party.
-
Landwatch Weekly
Recent Sales Results From Elkhart County, Indiana; Washington County, Kansas; Rock County, Minnesota; and Ramsey County, North Dakota
-
Roundup Settlement Gets Early Approval
A circuit court in Missouri granted preliminary approval to Bayer's proposed $7.3 billion national Roundup settlement.
-
Feds: McBee Trust Committed Fraud
U.S. attorneys asked a federal court to deny a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit against Steve A. McBee and his sons in an ongoing fraudulent asset transfer lawsuit.
-
Bayer: EPA Label Power Trumps States
Bayer filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing federal pesticide law preempts state warning label laws, with oral arguments scheduled for April 27, 2026.
-
Landwatch
Landwatch Recent Farmland Sales
-
Year-Round E15 Bill Still in Limbo
A congressional deadline for year-round E15 legislation passed without action, as biofuels industry leaders at the National Ethanol Conference urged lawmakers to quickly complete a bill.
-
Landwatch Weekly
Recent Sales Results From Waupaca County, Wisconsin; Buffalo County, Nebraska; Aurora County, South Dakota; and Webster County, Iowa
-
Idaho Ranch Negotiates CWA Settlement
An Idaho ranch accused of Clean Water Act violations for disrupting Bruneau River wetlands is negotiating an EPA settlement as attorneys seek a case delay.
-
US Farm Numbers Drop 8% Since 2018
U.S. agriculture lost 15,000 farms in 2025, continuing a seven-year consolidation trend. Only operations exceeding $1 million in sales grew.
-
Bayer Settles Roundup Cases for $7.3B
Bayer and Roundup plaintiff attorneys have proposed a $7.3 billion settlement for Roundup-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma claims.
-
Agridime Fraud: 5 Face Fed Charges
Five Agridime executives face federal charges for allegedly defrauding 2,200 investors of $220 million through false cattle purchase contracts in a nationwide Ponzi scheme.
-
Farmland Values Offset Ag Credit Woes
Midwest agriculture bankers expect agricultural credit conditions to worsen in 2026 despite rising farmland values, lower interest rates, and government support offsetting increased loan repayment problems.
-
Landwatch Weekly
Recent Sales Results From Pottawattamie County, Iowa; Pipestone County, Minnesota; Clark County, Missouri; and Walla Walla and Columbia Counties, Washington
-
Tyson, Cargill Reach $25M Settlement
Tyson Foods and Cargill settled with Oklahoma for more than $25 million to reduce poultry litter pollution in the Illinois River watershed.
-
Lawsuit Seeks Monarch Protections
Two conservation groups sued the federal government on Thursday and are seeking a binding deadline for finalizing federal protections of the monarch butterfly.
-
McBee Moves to Dismiss Fraud Lawsuit
Reality television star Steve McBee and sons are seeking dismissal of federal lawsuit alleging fraudulent asset transfers were made during a crop insurance fraud investigation.
-
Iowa Moves to Tap Hansen-Mueller Bond
Iowa requests federal court permission to use Hansen-Mueller's $500,000 surety bond to compensate farmers for unpaid grain deliveries following the company's bankruptcy filing.
-
3 Lawmakers Examine FFA China Ties
A committee in the U.S. House of Representatives is investigating what three federal lawmakers allege is a concerning partnership between the National Future Farmers of America Organization and Chinese-owned Syngenta Group.
-
Landwatch Weekly
Recent Sales Results From Adams County, Indiana; and Adams County, Illinois; Decatur County, Kansas; Frontier County, Nebraska
-
Three Lawmakers Examine FFA China Ties
A committee in the U.S. House of Representatives is investigating what three federal lawmakers allege is a concerning partnership between the National Future Farmers of America Organization and...
-
45Z Credit Rules Released by Treasury
The U.S. Department of Treasury released proposed guidance on the 45Z Clean Fuel Production tax credit and has scheduled a public May 2026 public hearing.
-
DEF System Failures Under EPA Scrutiny
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is requesting DEF system data from manufacturers to address sudden diesel equipment failures in potential rulemaking.
-
EPA: Repair Restrictions Not Warranted
The Trump administration reversed equipment manufacturers' Clean Air Act interpretation, clarifying farmers and independent shops can temporarily disable emissions systems for repairs.
-
Landwatch Weekly
Recent Sales Results From Clark County, Missouri; Benson County, North Dakota; Union County, South Dakota; and Wilkin County, Minnesota
-
Boersen Farms Case Moving to Trial
A Michigan farm equipment lawsuit filed in a circuit court is moving toward a trial after a court's ruling.
-
Tyson Settles $48M in Pork Price Fix
Tyson Foods settled for $48 million in a class-action lawsuit alleging pork processors conspired to fix prices from 2009 to 2018, totaling $114 million settlements industry-wide.
-
ADM Pays $40 Million in SEC Settlement
ADM will pay $40 million to settle an SEC accounting probe of nutrition segment accounting irregularities, as the former chief financial officer was charged with fraud.
-
Monette Farms Wins Appeal on BC Land
Canadian farm operation Monette Farms successfully appealed a $12 million consultant fee, reducing it to $2.7 million, while planning to auction 45,000 British Columbia acres.
-
Biodiesel Faces 9-Month Sprint on RFS
The U.S. biodiesel industry awaits the final rule on the latest Renewable Fuel Standard proposal, which could trigger an urgent production ramp-up in 2026.
-
US Biodiesel Industry Eyes Recovery
After 2025 saw biodiesel plant shutdowns from tax credit uncertainty, the industry sees recovery ahead with Renewable Fuel Standard volume increases and extended 45Z tax credits.
-
SCOTUS to Hear Roundup Liability Case
The Supreme Court will hear Bayer's Roundup case to resolve whether federal labeling laws preempt state laws, potentially ending thousands of cancer lawsuits.
-
Corteva May Seek Own Loyalty Trial
Corteva seeks to block a proposed October 2026 antitrust crop-loyalty trial date, indicating in a court filing this week that it may seek a trial separate from Syngenta Crop Protection.
-
Oklahoma Signs Settlement With George's Inc.
The state of Oklahoma reached a $5 million settlement with George's Inc. to cut poultry waste pollution in the Illinois River watershed.
-
Fort Worth-Area Equestrian Ranch Sells
Teton Ridge Ranch near Fort Worth, Texas, sold for $45 million to Montana-based Theorem Ranch owners, four months after completing a $28 million horse sale.
-
FTC Pursues Trial on Crop Loyalty Case
The Trump administration and 12 states are seeking an October 2026 trial date against Syngenta and Corteva, alleging they paid distributors to block generic pesticides.