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Farms could see different impacts on their federal tax returns under the varying and complex rules in the tax legislation that Republicans are seeking to push through the House and Senate.

There’s still confusion surrounding whether or not the Department of Agriculture is working to put together a contingency plan to help out farmers if the U.S. pulls out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but experts say such a plan really wouldn’t help much in a worst-case scenario.

Opponents of industry mergers and modern farming techniques thought they had the perfect partners in the Obama Administration to more strictly enforce anti-trust laws and stop industry consolidation in agriculture. That didn’t happen.

USDA’s regulatory reform officer told Capitol Hill lawmakers Tuesday that the department has identified about 140 regulations as “possible options” for revision or repeal. Although she did not identify them, she said a “significant number” will be published in the fall Unified Regulatory Agenda that should appear any day now, if history is any guide.

Can manure be regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act? Nearly three years ago, a federal judge said yes, it can be, in a ruling that cast a spotlight on how the dairy industry manages its waste.