Trump Announces EPA Diesel Rule Changes, New Loan Guarantees to Cut Farm Costs

At a Friday event with hundreds of farmers on the White House South Lawn, President Donald Trump announced a package of moves he says will launch a new "golden age" for U.S. agriculture, including altering Environmental Protection Agency guidance on diesel‑emissions systems used in farm equipment and easing rules on Diesel Exhaust Fluid requirements. Trump argued that modern tractors and other machinery have become "unaffordable" and claimed the changes would save farmers billions of dollars, while also touting EPA support for renewable fuels from agricultural products and attacking environmental activists as "terrorists" — rhetoric already drawing sharp criticism online. He highlighted that his administration has already directed $12 billion in tariff‑funded relief to farmers, urged Congress to quickly pass a new farm bill, and vowed to request additional farm relief in the next funding bill. The president also announced expanded Small Business Administration loan guarantees for agricultural small businesses, including crop farmers, livestock producers and grocery wholesalers, positioning the measures as a response to rising energy costs and food prices for American families.