December, 2009
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Is Condo Storage for You
Most farmers are of an independent nature, however, in one area they may want to consider partnering up on is grain storage. The decision to build on-farm grain storage can be very complex. Farms that are mid-size or smaller usually find it cheaper to continue to bring their grain to an elevator versus storing it on […]
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CRI Trumps APH
Crop insurance has been available to farmers for many years. Until recent years most of this insurance was based upon Actual Production History (APH). Insurance products based upon Crop Revenue Insurance (CRI) have been introduced to enhance and/or replace APH. Marcia Taylor of DTN/Progressive farmer had a good blog on how one farmer in Ohio […]
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Good Farmland in Iowa Down 7% Year-over-Year
The most recent AgLetter from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago indicated that good farm land in Iowa decreased about 7 percent from the third quarter of 2008. The average decrease for the five state region was 4%. The good news that the price of good farm land increased by 2% over the second quarter […]
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Milk @ $15 – Are You Taking Advantage of it!
Chuck Schwartau of the University of Minnesota Extension Service has a great post of how the trend in milk prices has changed over the last several months. It is no secret that dairy farmers having been hurting for close to a year now and a common statement was “If milk was at $15,00 per […]
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Merry Christmas
MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR! I can not believe that Christmas will be here tomorrow. Between having two boys in high school, one in college and one that just graduated, it seems like I can still remember being bigger than they were. That is no longer true. We started this blog less than […]
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Monsanto = Monopoly?????
I have read several articles about the Department of Justice possibly looking into anti-trust concerns regarding the concentration of seed genetic traits by Monsanto. Many experts believe that Monsanto uses their supplier contracts with other seed companies to unlawfully constrain competition in the seed industry. Over the last 12 years, Monsanto has gone from having almost […]
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Estate Tax Whiplash!
Thanks to Senate gridlock, taxpayers who are trying to do effective estate tax planning are in for a case of estate tax whiplash over the next few months. The federal estate tax is due to disappear for one year starting in about two weeks, however, it may reappear unexpectedly and retroactively. When the Senate refused […]
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Don’t Forget the Domestic Production Deduction
One of the deductions available to farmers that I see missed on tax returns (and I must admit I have missed it until I review the return) is the deduction for Domestic Production Activities. This can be one of the most complicated tax deductions of all times for larger businesses, but for farmers who follow […]
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How Many Tons of Stuff do we Produce
The USDA just recently produced their Crop Production report for 2009. Being a stats nut, I always like to look through the report. This time, I thought I would share with you the total amount of food that the US produces in metric tons. Lots of food items are counted in bushels, bales, tons, etc. […]
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House Extends Current Estate Tax Rules to 2010 and Beyond
The House on December 3, 2009 passed the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers and Small Businesses Bill of 2009. The Act would permanently extend the current exemption of estates of up to $3.5 million for a single taxpayer and $7.0 million for married couples. For estates larger than there amounts, they would be […]