January, 2010
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Legacy by Design
One of the shows that I have taped on my DVR each day is AgDay. It comes on in the morning at 6 am and when I get home from work, that is usually the first thing that I watch on TV. The parent of AgDay, Farm Journal Media has launched a new monthly TV […]
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Hog Plant Closing = Higher Hog Prices?
Does the recent announced closing of the hog plant located in Sioux City, Iowa mean that hog prices will increase during 2010. First, the closing will directly impact 1,500 workers and their families in the area. Some of them may find work at other plants located in the area, but many will need to find […]
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What’s Your Basis
I am a firm proponent of using hedges to lock in your cost of production when you can. However, you must not just look at what your commodity price is trading at on the relevant exchange. You need to determine what your basis is and how it compares to the historical trends. Basis is the difference between […]
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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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Net Operating Loss – Do You Go Back or Go Forward
Many dairy and other farmers will need to make a decision this year that they may not have had to make for several years. I would say almost all dairy farmers for 2009 will have a tax operating loss and it may be substantial. With a net operating loss, the tax laws allow you in […]
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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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Will Farmers Reduce Production
Agriculture Online has a good quick article on whether farmers will reduce their production levels in 2010 due to the large crop that was grown in 2009. Corn has rallied about a $1 since early September and soybeans have gone up about $2. However, the government report on Tuesday led to limit down price moves […]
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Send in a Paper Tax Return to Get Homebuyer Credit
As a tax preparer, I normally file all of my client tax returns electronically. However, for this tax season, for all of my clients that are claiming the homeowner credit, we will need to send in a paper return to the IRS. Many farmers may qualify, either for the first time credit of $8,000 or […]
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January 15 vs. March 1
Most of the farmers that I deal with from an income tax filing standpoint try to file and pay their income taxes by March 1 of each year. This is primarily due to no estimated taxes needing to be paid during the tax year if the farmer files and pays by March 1. If they […]
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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 […]