On-Farm Network Update

Sep 11, 2025

The MPSG On-Farm Network (OFN) has established 62 trials in 2025. Of those, 41 were soybean, 10 were field pea, nine were dry bean and two were faba bean.

All field pea trials have been harvested (as of September 5th) and dry bean harvest will commence very soon (Monday September 8). To date 15% of OFN trials have been harvested.

One of the goals this year was to have equal field pea trials and dry bean trials. Historically the OFN has had about double the number of field pea trials than dry bean trials and, with increasing dry bean acres and potentially higher profit margins compared to field pea, it was important to reflect this in allocating our resources.

For the first time in the OFN program, we have established both a dry bean row spacing and a dry bean seeding rate trial. Other first-time trials include a soybean on-farm precision experiment (soybean variable seeding rates), seeding/planting speed (5 mph,7 mph and 9 mph), soybean Boron (Solubar), Soybean starter Phosphorus (Alpine G-22) and soybean Nitrogen rates.
We are eagerly looking forward to seeing the results of these trials to help farmers make important management decisions and to improve their bottom line.

Data analysis is ongoing as trials are harvested, and summaries will be prepared for all short-term and long-term OFN results. 2025 OFN annual season results will to be presented in Brandon, on January 15th, 2026, at the joint MPSG, MCA and MCG’s on-farm research Annual Appreciation Dinner, open to all OFN participants and industry collaborators.

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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.