Family receives a 150-year certification for Illinois farm
When Andreas Rehberger signed on the dotted line and paid $33 an acre for 54 acres of farmland in southeastern Illinois, the investment over the next 152 years turned into lifetimes of good memories for five generations of the Rehberger family.
Gary Davis of Herrick, Ill., showed his large collection of vintage George Garden Tractors at the 25th annual Antique Power Days Farm Show at Salem. He was assisted at the show by Ralph Kirk, who was the parts and service manager at George in the late 1960s.
The Indiana Natural Resources Commission (NRC) has been pretty active lately. Along with its agenda of proposed rule changes for whitetail deer and a trapping season for otter, the NRC will be taking a comprehensive look for changes to catfish regulations in the Hoosier State.
Congress OKs tax package that will expire in two weeks
On Dec. 16, the U.S. Senate voted 76-16 to adopt a tax extenders package that holds key provisions for small businesses such as section 179 expensing and bonus depreciation.
Lawsuit by states confronts Obama’s immigration order
Michigan has joined 20 other states to challenge what Michigan AG Bill Schuette described as the president’s recent unilateral executive order on immigration. The order, or action – issued Nov. 20 – will create a program that allows immigrants who are in the United States illegally to work legally, as long as they have no criminal record, have lived here at least five years and have children.
The operating license of Schwan Grain, Inc. in Monroeville, Ohio, has been suspended. Agency examiners from the Ohio Commodity Advisory Commission looked into the matter on Dec. 5 and discovered Schwan Grain (with grain handlers’ license No. 5940), holds liabilities significantly higher than its available assets. Five days later the elevator was shut down.
Kentucky starts on second season of hemp cultivation
The 2014 growing season marked the first time in decades industrial hemp was legally planted in the state thanks to a provision included in the farm bill and state legislation passed nearly two years to create an administrative framework to oversee hemp production.
Illinois wine group hires a full-time executive director
Because they’ve outgrown what organization President Bruce Morgenstern called the “mom-and-pop” stage, the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Assoc. (IGGVA) has named its first full-time executive director.
Industry experts: Soybean exports help prop up price
Higher-than-expected fall export activity, combined with processors taking longer than expected to start crushing this year’s crop, means prices for domestic users have been buoyed, said Mark Ash, USDA economist, in last week’s Oil Crops Outlook. For example, soybean meal prices in central Illinois rose from an average of $382 in October to $441 in November.
