Farm Industry Trends
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Estimating Inherited Land Values
We received the following question from a reader: “Hello, I am trying to determine how to establish a base value (for capital gains purposes) on some farmland I inherited from my parents.My mother (last surviving parent) died in 2005. We had the land appraised in 2009 but did not actually sell until 2013. I am […]
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Which is Better – ARC or PLC + SCO
Crop farmers will have two program options to consider under the new Farm Bill. Option # 1 is Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) which covers the risk of the farmer not receiving targeted revenue between the 76% and 86% band. If “actual” revenues calculated by the USDA fall within this band, then the farmer will collect […]
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One Possible Section 179 Strategy
We had a reader ask the following question: “Should I wait to buy section 179 property until the date 179 property is raised from $25,000 to whatever?” As we have said in a previous post, who knows when the Section 179 deduction will be raised from $25,000 to “whatever”. In fact, Congress may end up […]
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You Can File Income Tax Returns Now (Maybe)
The IRS announced that they started accepting e-filed tax returns on Friday January 31. However, I have already found several returns that are being delayed due to the state E filing system not being ready. This may be due to our software, however, since many state income tax returns are predicated on starting with net […]
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FSA Does Not Understand Tax Return Income
We received some correspondence from a CPA whose is battling with the FSA on the definition of AGI for S corporations, LLCs, LLPs, LPs and other similar entities. The FSA manual on page 6-12 lists the line items from federal income tax returns for computing AGI for purposes of payment limitations. For corporations filing using Form 1120 […]
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10% of Benchmark Revenue not Benchmark Guarantee
A problem with trying to read a 900 page plus farm bill on a small laptop screen is that it is very easy to misread some of the fine print. A reader gave us a comment regarding ARC that the maximum payout is 10% of benchmark revenue, not benchmark guarantee. In this case, the actual amount […]
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Crop Insurance Changes in New Farm Bill
Supplement Coverage Option (SCO) will be available to a farmer who elects Price Loss Coverage (PLC) instead of Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC). ARC provides similar coverage, however, there is no premium to be paid by the farmer, but there is a limit on the amount of payment that a farmer can receive. With SCO, the farmer can […]
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Price Loss Coverage – What is it?
Yesterday, we posted on Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC). Today we will go over the rules on Price Loss Coverage (PLC). ARC is based upon both a yield and price component, whereas, PCL is based strictly on price. The USDA will determine the average crop price during each marketing year and compare that to the “base” price […]
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How To Make an Extra $100 Per Acre!
I spent part of today reviewing the new Farm Bill that was signed by the House today and most likely law by next week. I spent most of the time reviewing the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) which is one option that farmers can sign up for. The other option is the Price Loss Coverage which […]
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Top Producer – Day 1
Yesterday I spent most of the day in Coldwater, Michigan and I can tell you that the first four letters of that name was very appropriate. It was about 15 degrees below zero when I got up and I think it peaked out at zero later in the day. The event I attended was the […]