USDA BioPreferred Program — Federal Procurement Preference & Biobased Product Labeling

The USDA BioPreferred Program — authorized by 7 U.S.C. § 8102 and administered by USDA's Office of the Chief Economist — is the federal government's mandatory purchasing preference and voluntary labeling program for biobased products: goods made wholly or significantly from biological materials (agricultural crops, forestry residues, marine materials, or animal fibers) rather than petroleum feedstocks. Federal agencies are required to give purchasing preference to designated biobased products when making purchases above $10,000, and manufacturers can earn the "USDA Certified Biobased Product" label — a consumer-facing signal of biobased content verified by third-party testing. BioPreferred is USDA's primary mechanism for growing domestic demand for agricultural commodities through industrial uses rather than food — turning soybean oil into lubricants, corn starch into packaging, and wood cellulose into cleaning products.

Current Rule (2026)

What This Program Does

BioPreferred operates on two tracks that work together: mandatory federal purchasing preference for designated product categories, and a voluntary certification label that any manufacturer — selling to the federal government or not — can use to market biobased content to consumers and businesses.

Mandatory Federal Purchasing Preference: USDA designates product categories (cleaning products, lubricants, construction materials, packaging, solvents, personal care products) as biobased procurement items. Once a category is designated, federal agencies and their contractors must give preference to biobased products when purchasing items in that category valued above $10,000. The preference is not absolute — agencies may still purchase non-biobased products if biobased alternatives are not reasonably available, are not reasonably priced, or don't perform adequately — but they must affirmatively document the reason. The mandatory preference applies to direct federal purchases and to purchases made by contractors using federal funds. USDA maintains a product catalog at biopreferred.gov listing designated categories and the minimum biobased content percentages that qualify for each category.

Voluntary Labeling Program: Any manufacturer whose product meets USDA's biobased content threshold for a designated category — verified through ASTM D6866 testing by an ISO 17025-accredited laboratory — can apply to use the "USDA Certified Biobased Product" label. Products in federal procurement categories may additionally display the "FP" (Federal Procurement) designation within the label mark, signaling that the product satisfies mandatory purchasing preference requirements. The label is renewable every two years, requiring updated testing to confirm continued biobased content. As of 2026, more than 4,000 products across hundreds of manufacturers carry USDA BioPreferred certification.

Biobased Content Testing: ASTM D6866 measures the ratio of modern carbon (from biological sources) to fossil carbon in a product, using radiocarbon analysis. Because biological materials contain a predictable proportion of carbon-14 (which decays in petroleum-derived materials over geologic time), the test can precisely quantify what percentage of a product's carbon content is biobased — even in complex formulations that blend biological and petrochemical inputs. USDA sets minimum biobased content thresholds by category (ranging from roughly 25% to 95% depending on the product type).

Key Provisions

• § 4270.102 — Mandatory purchasing preference: applies to designated product categories; federal contracts of $10,000 or more for items in designated categories must prefer biobased products; contractor compliance required for subcontracts using federal dollars
• § 4270.103 — Product category designations: USDA may designate categories based on market readiness, available biobased alternatives, and agricultural feedstock supply; designations are published in the Federal Register and listed at biopreferred.gov
• § 4270.104 — Minimum biobased content requirements: each designated category has a minimum percentage threshold, established based on market survey data; products below the threshold cannot claim preference status regardless of actual biobased content
• § 4270.201 — Voluntary labeling eligibility: manufacturers of products meeting minimum biobased content thresholds in a designated category may apply; testing must use ASTM D6866 methodology at an accredited lab; applications submitted through biopreferred.gov
• § 4270.202 — Label terms: the "USDA Certified Biobased Product" label includes the verified biobased content percentage; products eligible for federal procurement preference may add the "FP" designation; label authorization expires every two years
• § 4270.203 — Certification renewal: re-testing is required every two years; USDA may revoke label authorization without renewal testing if the product formulation has not changed and prior test results remain valid — but manufacturers must affirmatively certify the unchanged formulation
• § 4270.205 — Enforcement: USDA may issue a 30-day cure notice to a label user found in violation (displaying false biobased content, misusing the label, failing to renew); failure to cure results in label suspension; continued violation leads to revocation; USDA may refer debarment cases to OMB under 2 CFR Part 417
• § 4270.206 — Reporting: federal agencies must annually report to USDA on their biobased purchasing — total obligations, designated product categories purchased, and any determinations that biobased alternatives were unavailable or unacceptable

How It Affects You

If you manufacture, distribute, or sell products with agricultural or forestry-derived ingredients: BioPreferred certification opens the federal procurement market — a $700+ billion annual purchasing base — to your products in a preferred position over petroleum-derived alternatives. The value of the "FP" label is especially high for product categories where the federal government (military installations, GSA schedules, federal building maintenance) is a significant buyer: cleaning and sanitation products, lubricants, solvents, hydraulic fluids, paints, and construction materials. Third-party ASTM D6866 testing from an ISO-accredited lab is the gating requirement — budget for $500–$2,000 per product depending on complexity, and plan for biennial retesting or reformulation documentation. Products listed on biopreferred.gov also receive visibility to the commercial buyers who use the catalog as a sourcing reference for corporate sustainability procurement.

If you are a federal contracting officer or procurement official: When purchasing items valued at $10,000 or more in USDA-designated categories, you are required to prefer biobased products — not just allowed to. Your agency's annual procurement report to USDA should document your biobased purchasing totals. For common items like cleaning supplies, lubricants, and hydraulic fluids, biobased alternatives are generally commercially available at comparable prices; "availability" or "cost" exceptions require affirmative documentation. Prime contractors working under federal cost-reimbursable contracts are subject to the same requirement for their subcontracted purchases.

If you farm commodity crops (corn, soybeans, canola, cotton, sorghum) or manage forest land: BioPreferred is the demand-side complement to BCAP's supply-side subsidies. Every biobased cleaning product that wins a federal contract because of the mandatory preference creates sustained commercial demand for the agricultural feedstocks in it. The program has been credited with creating hundreds of millions of dollars in additional demand for U.S. biobased products — though aggregate feedstock demand from BioPreferred remains small relative to food and fuel markets. The program's growth track — more designated categories, more certified products, greater commercial adoption of the label in private purchasing — represents the long-term pathway to a more significant industrial bioeconomy.

Statutory Authority

This program implements:

• 7 U.S.C. § 8102 — BioPreferred Program (Farm Bill authorization for USDA to designate biobased product categories for federal procurement preference and to establish a voluntary labeling program for certified biobased products)

Recent Rulemakings

• 2015 (80 FR 32584): consolidated and updated BioPreferred regulations — established the two-track structure (mandatory preference + voluntary label), codified ASTM D6866 as the required testing method, created the "FP" federal procurement designation within the label, and updated enforcement procedures including the 30-day cure process and debarment referral authority
• 2011 (76 FR 26762): original rule implementing the voluntary labeling program under the 2008 Farm Bill expansion of BioPreferred

Recent Developments

• Mandatory federal procurement expansion: USDA's BioPreferred program mandatory procurement categories have grown substantially — from initial categories for cleaning products and lubricants to hundreds of product categories including packaging, construction materials, agricultural chemicals, and textiles. USDA adds new mandatory procurement categories through rulemaking as it establishes biobased content minimums and minimum-biobased content thresholds for each category. Federal agencies must document compliance with mandatory procurement requirements in acquisition planning.
• IRA and biobased product incentives: The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 included provisions supporting biobased and bio-economy products as part of its rural economy and clean energy priorities. USDA aligned BioPreferred outreach with IRA implementation, emphasizing the program's role in supporting agricultural feedstock markets and rural manufacturing. IRA funding for agricultural conservation and climate-smart practices creates additional demand for biobased inputs (fertilizers, cover crop seed, bioplastics for mulch film).
• Trump administration review of BioPreferred: The Trump administration's 2025 review of federal sustainability requirements — including Buy Clean, sustainability reporting, and green procurement mandates — affected the BioPreferred program's mandatory procurement requirements. The administration's focus on reducing regulatory burden on federal contractors raised questions about whether certain mandatory preference requirements would be maintained, though the biobased preference (supporting domestic agricultural producers) had bipartisan support in farm-state Congressional delegations.
• Label program growth: The voluntary BioPreferred label program has expanded to thousands of certified products in commercial and consumer markets. Companies use the label to communicate biobased content to non-federal buyers — the label extends beyond federal procurement to mainstream retail channels. USDA's online catalog of labeled products has grown to over 20,000 products across hundreds of categories.

Pending Action

USDA's BioPreferred program has several new mandatory procurement category rulemakings in the pipeline — watch for Federal Register proposed rules adding biobased content minimums for additional product categories. The Trump administration's review of sustainability requirements created uncertainty about new mandatory category additions, but the biobased preference's agricultural sector support provides political durability that pure environmental mandates lack. Farm Bill 2025 reauthorization includes the BioPreferred program's legislative authorization; Farm Bill negotiations may include provisions expanding or modifying the program's mandatory procurement structure. Companies seeking voluntary BioPreferred label certification should apply through USDA's online certification portal — the label program's growth has continued even as federal procurement priorities have shifted.