Good news for potato growers

Feb 21, 2024

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's 2023 National Survey for Potato Wart shows the pest was not detected in any of the soil samples tested.

Over 2000 soil samples were collected from fields in key potato-growing areas like PEI, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

The national survey results have been provided to provinces, the Canadian Potato Council, and the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The soil survey, as well as specific and general visual potato wart surveillance, has been ongoing since the disease was first detected in PEI in 2000 which resulted in the closure of the U.S.-Canada border to all fresh PEI potatoes for six months.

Source : Pembinavalley online

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.