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The Evolution of the U.S. Corn Ethanol Industry
In a recent article in the Regional Economic Development publication of the Federal Reserve of St. Louis, the three primary phases of the U. S. Corn Ethanol industry were documented. These primary phases are: Birth – the events surrounding the oil shocks of the 1970’s from the OPEC price increases Development – The decline in […]
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Farmland Values Drop for the Quarter
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported that for their district (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin) farm land values dropped 6% from the previous quarter (the largest drop for a quarter since 1985). Also, the year-over-year increase in farmland values was up only 2% for the first quarter of 2009. The drop ranged from […]
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Farm Landlords – What’s my tax rate
If you are a farm landlord, you can be subject to several income tax rates and rules. In general, you will either file your income on Schedule E, Schedule F or Form 4835. Which onewill depend on whether you materially participate in the farm operation – in other words, the extent to which the landlord is […]
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World SuperBike Races
(Warning – this post does not have anything on farming) My wife and I attended the World SuperBike races in Tooele, Utah this weekend. I currently ride a BMW K 1200 S similar to the photo posted here. I grew up riding small dirt bikes and had not been on a sports bike for about […]
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In-Kind Wages Can Be Better Than Cash
One of the great options open to farmers is to pay their employees in-kind wages. In-kind wages are the payments of the crops that a farmer grows. For example, a farmer could pay their employees either cash wages of $10,000 or 1,000 bushels of soybeans worth $10,000. The reason that a farmer would want to […]
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Some Income Tax Goodies
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 delivered several tax goodies for farmers and their families. Here are some of the highlights: 1. Higher Education Credits – You can now have a maximum credit of $2,500 for higher education costs and this applies for the first four years of school instead of the old […]
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Credit Squeeze is Hitting Farmers Now
It seemed for several months that the credit squeeze was passing farmers by. However, lately I have ready several acticles about the credit squeeze hitting farms and farmers now. Frontier Bank in Colorado specialized in loaning to farmers and it went under a couple of months back. Most of these farmers using the bank were […]
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Why Strategic Plan Succeed
In my previous post, I listed six reasons why strategic plans fail. Strategic plans will succeed if they incorporate three main phases: The first phase is “intuitive thinking ” and it has more of an emotional attachment to it. This first phase answers the bigger questions such as, “Why are we in business? Who are our […]
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Why Strategic Plans Fail
I found a great article written by Ron Price, CEO of Price Associates, in AgProfessionals.com regarding why strategic plans fail. At one time, I was in a manufacturing company that periodically performed a strategic plan that had many of the problems brought out in this article. In short, there are six primary reasons why strategic […]
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Thoughts on Estate Planning for Farmers
I think over the next several months major changes will be made to the estate tax laws. Right now, each individual can have a tax-free estate of $3.5 million. Next year it is unlimited, however in 2011, it reverts back to $1.0 million. I think Congress will make changes this year to make the current […]
