Federal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald to visit China

Oct 29, 2025

Ottawa, Ontario – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

The Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, will travel to Shanghai, Beijing, and Qingdao, China, from October 27 to November 3, to strengthen agricultural collaboration and raise priorities for Canadians.

Canada and China’s longstanding relationship remains vital for many Canadian farmers, ranchers, processors, and businesses. In 2024, China ranked as Canada’s second-largest global market for food and seafood exports, and the largest market within the Indo-Pacific region.

During his visit, Minister MacDonald will engage with senior Chinese government officials, Canadian and local business leaders, and other key stakeholders to promote Canadian agricultural and agri-food products and to explore new opportunities for collaboration.

This meeting reinforces the commitment made by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, to establish more regular and constructive channels of communication between Canada and China.

Source : Canada.ca

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.