Farmers dealing with aphids and grasshoppers: Crop Pest Update

Aug 16, 2022

Summary

Insects: Insects of greatest concern currently are aphids in small grain cereals and soybeans, and grasshoppers. Insecticides have been applied for soybean aphid in some fields in Eastern and Central Manitoba. High populations of aphids are present in some fields of wheat, oats and barley, with insecticides applications occurring. There has been some spraying for Lygus bugs in canola in the Swan Valley area of the Northwest.

Diseases: Agronomists in the field reported two new diseases for this year: downy mildew in field peas and crown rust in oats. Read further below for the unique conditions that favour these diseases and why they might have appeared at this time in the season.

Weeds: Provincial Weed Survey is wrapping up with almost 700 fields sampled so far. Most fields are relatively clean and crops are in good shape. We are seeing a lot of warm season weeds like foxtails and pigweeds as well as wet season weeds like plantain and yellow dock. Other weeds like wild buckwheat, round-leaved mallow and Canada fleabane seem to be more prevalent this year. We will come back to about 1/4 of the fields at harvest time to sample mature weeds, these will be valuated for herbicide resistance.

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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.