Crop & Scouting Update

Jul 19, 2023

Many fields are showing signs of drought stress, where beans have flipped over their leaves to reflect more sunlight and conserve moisture. Drought conditions can also results in plants moving through development stages more quickly and result in shorter plants with smaller leaves. Nodule growth and development may also be impacted, with fewer larger nodules observed on drought-stressed plants. These larger nodules are more resilient to drought stress, but N fixation may be reduced. Peak water uptake for soybeans is at flowering (R1-2), but the most critical time for water uptake is at pod initiation (R3-4) and seed fill (R5-6) stages. Water limitations may also impact nutrient movement into the plant, resulting in deficiency symptoms. Water limitations in pulse and soybean crops →
Several fields are also re-growing from previous hail damage. Now that the crop is at the R3-4 growth stages, hail damage at this time is expected to have a greater impact on yield and maturity than earlier storms. Yield loss estimates due to defoliation and node breakage from hail →

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.