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Livestock Producers Urged to Enroll in Disaster Assistance Program by Oct. 1
The USDA is encouraging livestock producers who have suffered grazing losses due to drought or fire between October 1, 2011 and December 31, 2014 to register, request an appointment or begin a Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) application with their county FSA office before October 1, 2014 as the Budget Control Act passed by congress […]
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FSA Grants Date Extension on Filing Farm Structure Changes
The FSA just announced that the deadline to finalize your 2014 farm structure for all programs has been extended to September 26, 2014. Future 2014 Farm Bill Programs will look at the 2014 farm structure for eligibility and other requirements, so any changes or updates must be in place by this new deadline to be […]
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Enrollment for Dairy Margin Management Program Begins September 2
The USDA announced today that the new Dairy Margin Management Program (MPP) will be open for enrollment starting next Tuesday, September 2, 2014. Enrollment will end November 28, 2014 and dairy farmers will be able to retroactively enroll back to September 1 for 2014 and enroll for all of 2015. The elections are separate for 2014 […]
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IRS Releases 2012 Income Data
The IRS recently posted to their website the income statistics for 2012. These statistics break down income into their major components such as wages, interest, business income, etc. Farmers who file Schedule F are also listed. Farmers who file as a partnership or S corporation along with related wages would be lumped in with those […]
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How $563 Cost a Taxpayer $6,320
In an US Tax Court case released today, a taxpayer (who was not a farmer thankfully) had a very small issue with the IRS. The couple earned well in excess of $200,000 during 2009 and deducted $11,000 for an IRA for him and his spouse. Since the spouse was covered by a pension plan, this […]
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Trends in Crop Revenues
The USDA released updated estimates of net farm income for 2014 today and I thought I would reproduce the chart of estimated crop revenues from 2010 to 2014 below: As you can see, 2012 was the high-water mark for almost all crops over the last five years (2014 is an estimate). Only fruits and vegetables had […]
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Watch Out for Timing of Hedging Loss
I hesitate to write this post since I know that most of our farmers who hedge (including their tax advisors) may be technically reporting their hedging loss in the wrong year. In most cases this will not be true, but there are cases where it may happen and if an IRS auditor who knows hedge […]
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How to Sell Your Land and Pay No Tax – MAYBE
I had a reader ask me questions regarding the taxation of an installment sale of farmland. I helped him out and thought it would be a good idea to do another post on how you may be able to sell farm land (or other capital gain assets) in certain situations and pay no federal income […]
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FBS Conference – Hedging Accounting and Taxation
I will be presenting at the FBS Systems Annual Conference in Moline, Illinois on Tuesday August 26, 2014. This is a full day workshop in conjunction with Norm Brown (owner of FBS Systems) on hedging accounting and taxation based upon the standards issued by the Farm Financial Standards Council. This workshop will review the standards, […]
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One-Third of Americans Lack Retirement Savings
I came across this article recently and it highlighted a retirement savings issue many people face, especially those that are self-employed. “Many U.S. households are not adequately prepared for retirement, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve that found 31 percent of non-retired respondents indicating they have no retirement savings or pension, including 19 […]
