October, 2014
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USDA Announces Seven Day Dairy Margin Extension
The USDA announced yesterday a seven-day extension for dairy farmers to sign up for the new dairy margin protection program (DMPP). The original due date for farmers to sign up for both 2014 and 2015 was November 28, 2014. The additional extension means that farmers now have until December 5, 2014 to sign up for the program. […]
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How ARC-IC Pays on “Planted Acres”
We got the following question from a reader: “I enjoyed your article regarding ARC-IC calculations. I’m wondering if you could further explain how ARC-IC is paid on planted acres vs. base acres. Everything that I have read states that ARC-CO & ARC-IC are paid on 85% and 65% of Base Acres and that planted acres […]
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IRS Disagrees With Morehouse Ruling (Of Course)
The IRS released on October 16, 2014 a new bulletin on their website (in the small business section) regarding the taxation of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) payments. Although the release was dated after the Morehouse appeal case which was released on October 10, 2014, the IRS has not changed their stance regarding the taxation of […]
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2015 Social Security Wage Base Increases to $118,500
FICA tax of 6.2% for employer and employee applies on wages and SE earnings up to $117,000 for 2014. The Social Security Administration (SSA) just announced that for 2015, the new wage base will be $118,500 or an increase of $1,500. This means, that for 2015, the maximum Social Security tax that employers and employees will […]
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ARC-IC Calculations Apply to All Elected Farms in the State
Most producers who elect ARC will do at the County level (ARC-CO). However, many producers with yields substantially in excess of county levels will elect ARC at the Individual Crop level (ARC-IC). All of these elections are on a farm-by-farm basis and on a covered crop-by-covered crop basis except ARC-IC which requires all covered crops […]
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If You Want Crop Insurance Subsidies, Be In Conservation Compliance
For farmers to continue to receive premium subsidies for crop insurance, they must be in conservation compliance with the local FSA office. In order to be in compliance, the producer must file form AD-1026 with the FSA. If you already participate in any of the farm programs, you are in compliance. However, if you have never […]
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APH Yield Exclusion to be Available on Certain 2015 Spring Crops
The RMA announced today that the APH yield exclusion will be available for most 2015 spring crops. The APH yield exclusion allows farmers to exclude their own yields anytime the county or contiguous counties have a current yield that is less than 50% of the 10 year county yield. For example, assume a Texas wheat farmer farms […]
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Will ACA Require You To Include Health Insurance as Wages
Updated information on 11/9: http://www.farmcpatoday.com/2014/11/09/dol-plays-hardball Many farmers provide health insurance for their employees. In years past; whether the employer offered a qualified group plan or simply paid for the employee’s health insurance, the payment of the premium was deductible by the farmer and non-taxable to the employee. However, beginning January 1, 2014, an employee is only […]
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Base Reallocation Q & A
We have gotten numerous questions regarding the base reallocation election available to owners and we are summarizing these in a Q & A format: Q. Can I increase my base acres? A. No. You cannot increase or decrease your base acres. Those total acres are set; however, you are allowed to reallocate those acres from […]
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Join Andy Biebl, Lance Woodbury and Myself
DTN/Progressive Farmer puts on an Ag Summit in Chicago every year in December. This year on Sunday December 7 from 1 pm to 5 pm, Andy Biebl, Lance Woodbury and myself will be doing a joint presentation on Farm Retirement and Transition Planning. Some of the key topics that Andy and I will be presenting […]