A news release Friday from Purdue University indicated that, “As much of the Midwest shivered during a mid-January blast of arctic cold temperatures, organizers of the 2018 Indiana Small Farm Conference and trade show were looking forward to the warm sun of spring.

“‘Planting season will be here before you know it,’ said Michael O’Donnell, Purdue Extension organic and diversified agriculture educator and one of the event organizers. ‘If you are a beginning farmer, small-scale or diversified producer, attending the Indiana Small Farm Conference is the perfect opportunity to learn about new trends in production, marketing and other vital topics before the 2018 growing season gets underway.’

“The conference is March 1-3 at the Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds in Danville. Registration is now underway on the conference website at https://www.purdue.edu/dffs/smallfarms/.”

The Purdue update added that,”O’Donnell said there was still time to register for the conference at a reduced, early-bird rate. For those who sign up through Feb. 5, cost is $75 for one day, $135 for two days and $190 for three days. Admission for children age 12 and younger is $20, $35 and $45. After Feb. 5, the cost will be $90, $162 and $228.

“‘It’s especially important to sign up early if you are interested in participating in one of the daylong workshops that open the conference,’ he noted. ‘Space is filling up fast.'”

DTN writer Todd Neeley reported yesterday that, “Attorneys representing farmers from across the country who filed multiple lawsuits alleging off-target dicamba damage to their crops will try to convince a federal panel of judges next week that the cases should be heard in a single court.

“The seven-judge U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation is slated to hear oral arguments on Jan. 25 in Miami, Florida, on a motion by attorneys representing farmers in Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas and Missouri to move all the cases to one court.

“The question at hand will be what venue would best serve the interests of all the litigants.”

The DTN article noted that, “An attorney representing some of those farmers in Illinois told DTN in an interview that consolidating the cases in one court would best serve all farmers alleging crop damages.

“Thousands of complaints have been made in at least 24 states by farmers alleging crop injury from dicamba-based products manufactured by Monsanto, BASF and DuPont. Lawsuits have sought the stoppage of sales of dicamba products under the names Xtend, Engenia, Fexapan and Xtendimax, and have also sought damages for crop losses.”

Mr. Neeley added that, “The federal multidistrict court is expected to consider moving the cases to one of four courts: the Southern District of Illinois, the Eastern District of Missouri, the Eastern District of Arkansas or the District of Kansas.”

Donnelle Eller reported this week at The Des Moines Register Online that, “Iowa lawmakers should halt construction on animal confinements until Iowa’s water quality is significantly improved, a coalition of about two dozen state, local and national groups said Tuesday.

“The Iowa Alliance for Responsible Agriculture asked lawmakers to support 15 bills tightening oversight of confinements introduced by Sen. David Johnson, an independent from Ocheyeden.

“Johnson seeks a moratorium on building or expanding concentrated animal feeding operations, also known as CAFOs, until Iowa’s list of impaired waterways shrinks from 750 to fewer than 100 — and until the rules that dictate where confinements can be located are strengthened.”

The Register article stated that, “Iowa’s pork industry is ‘already one of the most heavily regulated industries in the state and the call for stricter regulations is unwarranted,’ said Curtis Meier, president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association.

“‘Today’s Iowa pig barns are designed to contain all manure to protect water quality and enable manure use as a valuable fertilizer,’ said Meier, who raises pigs near Clarinda.

“‘Imposing a moratorium on the pork industry would greatly stifle rural Iowa economic activity and limit opportunities for the next generation on the farm,’ he said, adding that Iowa’s pork industry provides more than $8 billion in labor income annually.”

Ms. Eller added that, “In addition to the moratorium, Johnson seeks to give local leaders more control over confinement construction and increase distances between facilities and neighbors.

“The lawmaker also wants to create a study committee made up of state leaders, livestock association members and others to review rules that guide confinement construction.”

Associated Press writer Andrew Demillo reported yesterday that, “Arkansas lawmakers recommended regulators move forward Tuesday with efforts to ban an herbicide that farmers in several states say has drifted onto their crops and caused damage, advancing the prohibition despite a lawsuit by a maker of the weed killer.

“A legislative subcommittee supported the state Plant Board’s proposal to ban the use of dicamba from April 16 through Oct. 31. The proposed ban is scheduled to go before the Legislative Council, the Legislature’s main governing body when lawmakers aren’t in session, for a final vote on Friday.

“The Plant Board earlier this month stood by the proposed ban after lawmakers urged the panel to consider revising the proposal.”

Mr. Demillo noted that, “Lawmakers endorsed the ban after hearing from farmers who have been sharply divided over the restriction. The Plant Board last year approved a temporary ban on the herbicide’s sale and use, and has received nearly 1,000 complaints about dicamba. Farmers have also complained about dicamba causing damage to their crops in other states, including Mississippi, Missouri, North”‘Dakota and Tennessee.

“We are only asking for a pause in this until we get our hands around this and figure out what we can do,’ David Wildy, a farmer from east Arkansas, told the panel. ‘We can’t allow this to happen again.'”

Paul Hammel reported yesterday at the Omaha World-Herald Online that, “More than 30 farmers who ended up losing an estimated $2.6 million in the closing of a Pierce, Nebraska, grain elevator lost a final attempt Friday to try to recover their losses.

Emily Cyr reported last week at Fox News Online that, “The U.S. government wants to help military veterans become farmers.         

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently launched a program to help America’s veterans transition from a military career to an agricultural one.

“Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue introduced The Vets in Agriculture Initiative to connect veterans across the country with jobs in the agriculture industry. Perdue, an Air Force veteran himself, recognized that the same strengths and skills used in national security operations could be translated to food security operations. He also said that hiring veterans in the USDA would enhance the agency’s mission to revitalize rural America.”

Last week’s update added that, “‘Secretary Perdue has been committed since he sworn in on April 25, 2017 to bringing prosperity to rural America’ USDA spokeswoman Diane Cullo told Fox News.

“The U.S. Census Bureau says roughly a quarter of veterans live in rural areas, making them prime candidates for the 2,100 county offices scattered throughout the country. The USDA strives to have a quarter of its workforce be veterans, and prioritizes hiring them, Cullo said.”

Bloomberg writers Mario Parker and Sahil Kapur reported yesterday that, “A provision in last month’s U.S. tax overhaul that gives farmers the opportunity to significantly minimize their taxable income is drawing fire from some companies who could lose out as a result, while two Senators behind the change pledged to fix the problem.

“The measure in question gives farmers a bigger deduction if they sell crops to agricultural co-operatives. That appears to be a win for farmer-owned agribusinesses such as CHS Inc. at the expense of other major crop buyers like Archer Daniels Midland Co., Bunge Ltd. and Cargill Inc.

“The two Republican senators who worked to craft that part of the bill, Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota and John Thune of South Dakota, say they were trying to preserve a provision from the outgoing tax code, and that the outcome for co-ops was unintentional. They’re now working with other lawmakers and the agriculture industry to find a ‘reasonable solution,’ Ryan Wrasse, a spokesman for Thune, said in an emailed statement Wednesday.”

The Bloomberg writers noted that, “‘Senator Thune believes that producers should make decisions about where and how to sell their products without the tax code unfairly tipping the scales in favor of marketing to one type of business entity or another,’ Wrasse said.

“‘Right now in terms of the technical fixes, this is the one that probably needs to get fixed the most,’ Thune told reporters in Washington on Thursday, referring to the tax bill.”