Downtown Memphis, Tenn., usually has more than its fair share of lawyers, but it received an extra infusion when the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's National Agricultural Law Center held the third annual Mid-South Agricultural and Environmental Conference there April 22.

All jokes about lawyers aside, the conference provided a full day of intensive training and updates on a wide range of issues that currently confront farmers, including such timely topics as "When the clock is ticking: Handling an agricultural bankruptcy," and "When the Corps and EPA comes a knockin' on the farm: Navigating Wetlands Issues."

One of the more somber sessions of the day included presentations by Greg Cole, president and CEO of AgHeritage Farm Credit Services, and Bill Bridgforth, partner in Ramsay, Bridgforth, Robinson and Raley LLP, on "Lenders, lawyers and their farmers: Managing risk in a faltering ag economy."

Besides the National Agricultural Law Center, conference sponsors included The Ohio State University, the National Sea Grant Law Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law and Penn State Law

We'll be providing coverage of those presentations in this web space and in Delta Farm Press in the days ahead. Meanwhile, here are photos of some of the conference participants.