Ag Policy
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Some S Corporation Dividends May become Subject to SE Taxes
The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 is expected to be passed in the next week or so. In this tax act, there is a provision that states all ordinary income earned by S corporation from professional services (such as accounting, consulting, medical and other related professions) will be subject to self-employment […]
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Farmers – New Credit for Health Care Premiums Paid
Although I am usually on the other side from the IRS, I will admit that their web-site is one of the best sites I have used for accessing tax information. The recent Health Care Reform law enacted a new employer credit for certain employers who pay for their employee’s health care premiums. I would estimate […]
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Watch Your Real Estate Tax Bill
I think that most farmers know that the residential and commercial real estate markets have gone through dramatic changes in the last few years. I know that in our area that residential prices peaked out about three years ago and in many of the cities near me the price is at least 50% below the […]
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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Health Care Act) – Tax Provisions
My good friend Scott Heintzelman of The Exuberant Accountant recently posted a summary of the information on the new Health Care act that passed Sunday night and I thought I would post the same summary since this new Act will affect all of us as Americans and as farmers. Premium Assistance Credit The act provides […]
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Take Your Chemical Ag Credit
In 2008, Congress enacted a new agricultural chemical security credit that may apply to some farmers and will certainly apply to those farmers who have expanded their business into the fertilizer and farm chemicals operations. This credit allows you to take a 30% credit for expenses related to enhancing the security of a facility in […]
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Hog Odors Raise a Stink
For those people living in rural areas, the smells associated with hogs, cows, etc. can be a nuisance. Usually most people grin and bear it, however, there are many times when they try to do something about it. The High Plains Midwest Ag Journal recently reported on a civil trial filed in Kansas City regarding […]
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Lack of Data Dooms GRIP & GRP in 1000+ Counties
Marcia Taylor with DTN/The Progressive Farmer had a great post recently on the elimination of crop insurance under the Group Risk Income Protection (GRIP) and Group Risk Program (GRP) in over 1,000 counties across the US. The primary reason for eliminating these counties were due to not reporting at least 30 yield reports or 25% […]
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Rural Broadband – Catching up to Urban Broadband?
Sort of like the photo of my motorcycle at the left, broadband Internet services are much faster than dial up (or in my case a Harley). Historically, the utilization of broadband Internet services in the rural sector has been much lower than urban areas. In an article in the September, 2009 Amber Waves , several […]
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Farm Debt Levels Are Increasing
All in all, farm debt levels have increased, however, farmers have done a very good job of not letting these levels get out of control. The United States Department of Agriculture has a very good print and online magazine called Amber Waves. Each issue generally has several good articles related to farming and I would […]
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Top-Third vs. Bottom-Third
The Kansas State University Department of Agricultural Economics periodically produces a recap of the high 1/3, mid 1/3 and low 1/3 of various farms in their state. They just released the latest analysis for corn, sorghum, wheat, soybeans and alfalfa for the three years 2006-2008. The total number of crop farms reporting for all three […]