National Sorghum Producers Applauds Long-Awaited 45Z Implementation
WASHINGTON (Sept. 9, 2026) — National Sorghum Producers today welcomed long-awaited guidance from the Internal Revenue Service and updated modeling from the U.S. Department of Energy that clear the way for farmers and biofuel producers to put the Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit to work.
The updates allow qualifying farm practices to count toward the credit, provide needed transition relief for fuel produced in 2025 and 2026 and explicitly recognize distillers sorghum oil in clean fuel pathways, including biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. Together with USDA’s feedstock guidelines and calculator, the actions give agriculture and the biofuels industry a workable framework.
“After a long wait, and a lot of work, farmers and biofuel producers finally have a workable 45Z framework,” said NSP CEO Tim Lust. “This gives the market more certainty, strengthens domestic biofuel demand and creates new opportunities for American-grown sorghum and the farmers who produce it.”
For sorghum, recognition of distillers sorghum oil opens additional opportunities for an important co-product. The transition relief also ensures growers are not excluded because nutrient plans could not be completed before federal guidance was available.
“We thank the IRS for issuing this long-awaited guidance, USDA and DOE for completing the model updates and Sen. Roger Marshall for his consistent leadership in pushing for a workable result for agriculture,” said NSP Chair Amy France, a sorghum farmer from Scott City, Kansas. “This is the certainty our industry has been asking for, and it gives farmers and fuel producers the confidence to move forward.”
NSP will continue working to ensure farmers can participate and share in the value created through stronger biofuel demand.
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About National Sorghum Producers
National Sorghum Producers represents U.S. sorghum producers and serves as the voice of the sorghum industry coast to coast through legislative and regulatory representation and education. To learn more about NSP, visit www.sorghumgrowers.com.