Ag Policy
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Beginning Farmers Are Not Necessarily Young Farmers
The USDA in their Amber Wages April 1 issue had a very interesting article on the make-up of beginning farmers using 2011 data. I naturally assumed that most of these “beginning” farmers were less than 35 years of age. It turns out that this segment only comprises 14% of total beginning farmers. The largest segment […]
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Will This Time Be Different?
The Kansas City Federal Reserve just released a workpaper entitled “Farm Investment and Leverage Cycle: Will This Time Be Different?”. The article describes the four major farm cycles that have occurred since 1900. The first cycle begin in 1910 and ended in 1940. The First World War caused farm prices to rise dramatically which led […]
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Will Excess Farm Loss Rules Apply With New Farm Bill?
There is a provision in the Income Tax Code that disallows certain farm losses that are in excess of $300,000 (or the aggregate farm income for the last 5 years). This excess amount is not allowed in the current year, but is carried forward and allowed as a deduction in the next tax year (assuming […]
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Senate and House Appear Closer on Farm Bill
After the House passed their Farm Bill today, it appears that their version on the Senate version are not too far apart. The key points for both are: An elimination of all direct farm payments A reduction in CRP acreage to either 24 or 25 million acres Consolidation of many farm programs A Price Support […]
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What is “Draconian”
I was doing a google search on the House Farm Bill today and the 10th item that showed up in my search was this article. With a title of “House Ready to Make Draconian Cuts to Food Stamps in House Bill” I was interested in what these “draconian” cuts were. As you read the article, […]
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Mainstreet Index Still Remains Robust
Creighton University produces a monthly index called the Rural Mainsteet Index (RMI) indicating the overall economy for several rural states in the Midwest and Mountain states. The May Index was recently released and I thought this month I would recap the index for each of the states covered. Any value greater than 50 indicates economic […]
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Get Your Message Out!
I spent today in Spokane attending the Washington Bankers Association agriculture conference. I gave an update on the possible new farm bill provisions along with an update on the new tax laws. After I spoke (never a good thing to give the farm bill and tax update right after lunch) Alex McGregor of The McGregor […]
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When Congress Says “Simplified” Watch Out!
WARNING – THIS IS MY LONGEST POST EVER The House Ways and Means Committee just issued a proposal to “simplify” the treatment of small business (including most of our farmers). I will attempt to summarize it: Core Changes: Permanently expanding Section 179 from the current $25,000 level (for 2014) to $250,000 with a phase-out starting […]
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Irrigated Cropland Values Up Sharply Due to Drought
The Kansas City Federal Reserve issued their latest Agricultural Credit Conditions report for the 4th quarter of 2012. Due to the widespread drought in their area, irrigated cropland values saw a 13 percent jump in the 4th quarter alone and up 30% for the year. Cash rental rates for irrigated cropland also surged more than […]
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Another Bill to Reduce Farm Payments is Introduced!
Four Senators (two Democrats and two Republicans) this week introduced a bill “The Farm Program Integrity Act of 2013” to place a cap on farm payments that an individual farmer can receive and try to close “certain perceived” loopholes in the farm payment program. This bill closely follows language that was included in the original […]