MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (AP) — A late-night fire swept through a northern Indiana barn, killing a man and 22 horses he was hired to care for, police said.

John Lesniak, 60, died in the barn, which was fully engulfed in flames when police and firefighters arrived about 11 p.m. Thursday, said Merrillville police Sgt. Jeff Rice. After putting out the fire, firefighters found Lesniak’s burned body.

The Lake County coroner’s office said Lesniak died of smoke inhalation and extensive burns. State Fire Inspector Jeff Roseboom said Lesniak was hired to work at the farm, and he lived on the second floor of the barn.

He said it was unclear if Lesniak was trying to free the horses when he died, because the second floor collapsed during the blaze. Lesniak was found with a flashlight in his hand.

The cause of the fire was undetermined Friday afternoon, Roseboom said. He said he hasn’t ruled out electrical failure, and there were also space heaters used in the barn.

On Friday, Lesniak’s friends fought back the tears as they trudged through the mud, moving the barn’s rubble so they could remove the dead horses and bury them. Krista Young, of Cedar Lake and a horse owner, said she knew Lesniak, and he was a quiet man who didn’t have much family. “He was a nice old guy,” she said.

Although her horse survived the fire, she said it didn’t make the situation any easier for her and her daughter.

“It’s pretty devastating,” Young said. “It took 22 horses and a gentleman, just like that.”

Farm bill includes ban on meat packer ownership of livestock

WASHINGTON (AP) — The farm bill approved Thursday by the Senate Agriculture Committee would ban meat packers from owning cattle more than two weeks before slaughter, legislation advocated by Montana and Wyoming lawmakers.

The legislation is a priority for High Plains ranchers who own smaller operations and are hoping to stem competition from larger companies. Supporters of the ban have long pushed for the law to prevent large meat packing companies from having control over cattle for a long period of time. That way, the companies would be forced to pay current market prices for meat.

Advocates say meat packers can manipulate the prices they pay for cattle with “captive supplies,” or stock they own or control through contracts and marketing agreements. They argue that such control lets meat packers time their purchases, allowing them to save money but also depress prices.

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) may offer an additional amendment on the Senate floor that would require packers to have a fixed base price in their contracts and to put contracts up for bid in the open market.

Enzi maintains this would prevent the large meat packing companies from manipulating the base price after the point of sale.

Enzi and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, also a Republican, praised the Senate bill, noting it also includes a provision that would allow some small meat plants to sell their products across state lines and language that would require country-of-origin labels on meats and other foods.

Stabenow says specialty crops should see funding boost

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senator Debbie Stabenow says Michigan farmers who produce fruits and vegetables should see a boost in support from this year’s farm bill in Congress.

Stabenow says the Senate Agriculture Committee has approved more than $3 billion to fund specialty crops programs in the United States.

Michigan has the second-most diverse number of crops, behind California, and is a top producer of blueberries, apples, cherries, asparagus and celery. The Michigan Democrat says the bill would help enhance programs in the state dealing with alternative energy, conservation, rural development and nutrition.

The Senate is expected to consider the farm bill early next month. The House passed a similar bill in July.

Kentucky farmers donate cattle to decimated Indiana farm

NEW WASHINGTON, Ind. (AP) — A couple whose cattle herd was decimated by a deadly reaction to soybeans is starting over with three pregnant Black Angus heifers donated by Kentucky farmers. Chrissy Yeager said she wept and her husband, Kenny, had a beaming smile Oct. 24 as the cattle were unloaded from a truck at their farm about 25 miles north of Louisville, Ky.

“You couldn’t knock the smile off his face,” she said, adding that both she and her husband were thrilled by “the goodness and kindness of strangers.”

The couple will use the pregnant heifers to rebuild their Clark County herd, which was devastated earlier this month when their 11 cows and a bull died suddenly. The livestock had eaten too many soybeans and succumbed to a deadly reaction called rumen acidosis.

Not only was it a financial loss of an estimated $17,000, it was also an emotional loss. Chrissy Yeager said her husband had become attached to the cattle, which would come running like big pets as soon as he called out to them.

The cattle’s death was the latest misfortune to plague the Yeagers in recent months. This spring, a freeze destroyed their wheat crop and the summer drought ruined their tobacco and hay.

The heifers were delivered by Billy Joe Caudel, his grandson, Jeff Caudel, and Kenneth Melloan and Larry Williams, who farm in Barren and Hart counties in south-central Kentucky.

They brought the cows the 110 miles to New Washington in Clark County. Margaret Caudel said her husband, Billy Joe, and his friends decided to donate the cows after hearing about the Yeagers’ losses.

“He’s an old softie when it comes to someone in trouble,” she said. When he saw the Kentucky farmers unloading the pregnant heifers Wednesday morning, Kenny Yeager said he “felt like a big relief came over me.”

The heifers are in their prime, weigh about 1,200 pounds apiece and are four to six years old. Chrissy Yeager estimated the financial value of the cows at $1,000 apiece, but said the goodwill outweighs that monetary sum.

“They’re so healthy and so beautiful,” she said. “It’s unbelievable.”

Grassley propane amendment attached to farm bill

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Rural farmers may yet escape new regulations on their use of propane.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) added an amendment to the farm bill that would exempt rural farmers from the regulations on quantities of propane greater than 7,500 pounds. The farm bill passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday.

Homeland Security has listed propane as a chemical of interest because it can be dangerous in large quantities. Grassley says the exemption is needed because most farmers have more than 7,500 pounds of propane. Unless the exemption is approved, the new regulation could cost farmers up to $3,500 in fees. The amendment would exempt any propane tank in an area that has fewer than 25,000 people.

High school gets $28,000 school loan to open goat farm

SPENCER, Ind. (AP) — High school students who created a business plan detailing the market potential they see in the rising demand for goat meat in Indiana will get a $28,000 school district loan to open a goat farm.

Spencer-Owen school board members voted 5-2 Thursday to finance the seven-acre farm, which will be run by Owen Valley High School students about 15 miles northwest of Bloomington. The students will work together to raise and market Boer goats to Indiana’s growing number of ethnic groups that favor goat meat. They’ll pay back the loan through their meat sales.

The students proposed a $28,000 loan – $5,000 for goats and $23,000 for the fence and barn. They agreed to repay the loan at a rate of $4,000 per year. About 80-90 students will be involved in operating the farm.