Farmers bring in bountiful wheat crop

Jul 20, 2023

Hot, dry conditions have caused challenges for other crops across the Midwest this summer, but many farmers raised a generally good wheat crop. USDA numbers show it was the largest soft red winter wheat crop in nine years.

John Howell farms in Monroe County, Illinois, near St. Louis, and serves as vice president of the Illinois Wheat Growers Association. He says it was a very good year for wheat in his area.

“Generally speaking, for myself and a lot of people that I know, really good wheat yields,” he says. “Some people had record yields. Quality and grain test weight were good as well.”

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Video: Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard

On Friday, April 24, 2026, from 12 noon–1:00 ET, the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s (PDA) Agricultural Business Development Center (ABDC), presented this webinar in the Understanding Agricultural Law Educational Series, a course designed to develop subject matter literacy and competence on fundamental issues of agricultural law for attorneys and business advisors who work with or represent agricultural or rural clients but may not necessarily specialize in agricultural law:

“Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard”

The Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, or advanced biofuels. Established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and later expanded by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the RFS is implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in collaboration with the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

This webinar provides an overview of the legal authority and structure for the RFS program and explain how it works, including the program’s system of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) and categories of renewable fuels. Additionally, this webinar addresses EPA annual volume requirement rulemaking and associated recent legal issues.