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Ohio Ag Manager

June 2012

Jun
06
2012

Depreciation of Farm Drainage Tile

By Wm. Bruce Clevenger, OSU Extension Educator, Assistant Professor Introduction Agriculture is Ohio's largest industry. Because much of the state is characterized by fertile, flat soils and adequate rainfall, crop production occurs on 45 percent of Ohio's land area. About 55 percent of Ohio's agricultural soils need drainage improvement to minimize soil erosion, excess soil-water conditions in the plant root zone, and unfavorable field conditions for farm equipment in the spring and fall. Improved drainage has been found to reduce water runoff, peak outflow rates, and sediment losses while increasing crop production yields. This increase in productivity increases the value of the land and land rents, but comes at a cost. It frequently will cost $600-$800 per acre to install systematic subsurface drainage tile and this expense must be written off over time as depreciation. Depreciation Depreciation is a term used in accounting to spread the cost of an asset over the span of the assets expected life. Depreciation reduces the value of the asset over time due to its use, wear and tear, or uselessness. Depreciation is a farm business expense deducted on a taxpayer’s Federal tax return. Economic vs. Tax Depreciation Economic depreciation relates to the asset’s declining ability to produce revenue as the asset wears out and ages. Farm managers need to plan for asset repairs and eventual replacement. Tax depreciation is the allowable business expense for IRS pu...
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Financial Management, June 2012, Tax Management
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Jun
04
2012

OSU to Hire Field Specialist for Taxation

OSU Extension is advertising for a qualified tax professional to fill a field faculty position focused on tax education. This faculty position provides overall leadership for developing and implementing a comprehensive and balanced teaching and applied research agenda for Agriculture and Natural Resources within the Department of Extension in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. Working collaboratively with a team of OSU professionals within OSU Extension as well as with cross-disciplinary departments and colleges, the faculty member functions as a consultant with clientele to address statewide issues as expertise is needed; provides unbiased research-based alternatives; evaluates and responds to large scale statewide needs vs. individual requests; and secures resources (grants, contracts, user fees) to focus on these issues. The faculty member will seek a “no salary” faculty status within the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics (AEDE) to maintain an integrated connection with campus departments and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC). Provide for the continuation of strong positive relationships with governmental tax agencies and clientele organizations.  To read the full job description and application details see http://extensionhr.osu.edu/career/PDFSTaxation060212.pdf

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June 2012, Tax Management
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May
30
2012

Producer and Land Owner Options with Farm Services Agency Closures

By: Chris Bruynis, Assistant Professor & Extension Educator The decision to approve the consolidation of 125 FSA offices nationwide under the authority provided in the 2008 Farm Bill was announced on May 29, 2012. These office closures were influenced by the following criteria used by USDA:  USDA followed Congressional direction under the 2008 Farm Bill to propose first for consolidation, to the maximum extent practicable, all offices which are located less than 20 miles from another office, and which employ 2 or fewer permanent full-time employees. USDA identified all FSA offices that currently have zero permanent employees – regardless of location. The decision to finalize a consolidation plan followed a thorough process, also guided by provisions in the 2008 Farm Bill.  Public meetings were held in every county affected by the proposal; the Department formally notified Congress of the proposal on February 27, 2012; and finally, the Department carefully reviewed public comments and data used to create the proposal during a 90-day Congressional notification period.  During this review, USDA determined that six of the original 131 proposed offices did not meet the 2008 Farm Bill criteria for office consolidations. As a result, they are not included in the closure plan announced by USDA. The list detailing the consolidation plan is attached. Steven Maurer, the Ohio Farm Service Agency State Executive Director, provided the following proposal of consoli...
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Farm Policy, June 2012
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May
30
2012

2012 Ohio Swine Enterprise Budgets

By: Barry Ward, Leader, Production Business Management, Ohio State University Extension Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics Newly updated OSU Extension Swine Enterprise Budgets for 2012 have been completed and posted to the Farm Management Website of the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics. Updated Enterprise Budgets can be viewed and downloaded from the following website: http://aede.osu.edu/programs/farmmanagement/budgets Updated Swine Enterprise Budgets include: Farrow to Wean – Sow Producing 1 Litter Wean to Finish – 1 Hog These enterprise budgets are constructed differently from our other enterprise budgets. They include variable costs only in the budget analysis and offer the user the ability to calculate “Returns Above Variable Costs” and “Returns Above Feed Costs”. Our enterprise budgets are compiled on downloadable Excel Spreadsheets that contain macros for ease of use. Users can input their own production and price levels to calculate their own numbers. Detailed footnotes are included to help explain methodologies used to obtain the budget numbers. Authors of these swine budgets include: Dale Ricker, Extension Swine Specialist, OSU Extension; Barry Ward, Leader, Production Business Management, OSU Extension and OSU Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics ; and Seth Wilkerson, Undergraduate Student, Agribusiness and Applied Economics, OSU Depart...
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Financial Management, June 2012
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May
29
2012

Should You Consider Growing Wheat?

By: Chris Zoller, Extension Educator (ANR in Tuscarawas County); Brian Roe, AEDE Extension Specialist; & Bruce Clevenger, Extension Educator (ANR, Defiance County) Wheat straw is in high demand across all of Ohio for a variety of reasons, including fewer acres devoted to wheat production, its use in reclamation of gas and oil well drilling sites, and fields being planted to soybeans following wheat harvest without the straw being baled. Reports of higher than normal prices per bale are found across the state. The Farmerstown, Ohio, Auction on May 15 reported large square bales of straw selling for $165 per ton and small square bales bringing $180 per ton, while per-ton prices over the past two months have averaged $167 in central Pennsylvania and $140 in central Illinois. Further analysis of the central Pennsylvania auction prices reveals that these strong prices for straw have persisted for the past two years and are significantly higher than 2010 prices. Obviously, supply and demand will continue to drive the price of straw, and prices per bale will probably decline at some point, but there may be an opportunity for farmers to plant more acres to wheat to meet the demand. If you have wheat this year and had not planned to bale the straw, this may be the year to do so. It’s important to do some homework before jumping into this venture and we encourage farmers to evaluate the pros and cons of growing wheat, baling the straw, and completing an assessment of the ...
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Financial Management, June 2012
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May
23
2012

U.S. Senate Ag Committee Version of New Farm Bill

By: Carl Zulauf, Department Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, The Ohio State University

On April 26, 2012; the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry reported the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012 (2012 Farm Bill) to the full Senate for its consideration. This article summarizes provisions that concern the safety net for U.S. crops: The provisions are in Title I, Commodity Programs; Title XI, Crop Insurance; and Title XII, Miscellaneous. Read the full article at http://www.farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2012/05/us_senate_ag_committee_version.html.

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Farm Policy, June 2012, Newsletters
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Information presented above and where trade names are used, they are supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Ohio State University Extension is implied.

Ohio State University Extension embraces human diversity and is committed to ensuring that all research and related educational programs are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or veteran status. This statement is in accordance with United States Civil Rights Laws and the USDA.

Keith L. Smith, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Agricultural Administration and Director, Ohio State University Extension TDD No. 800-589-8292 ( Ohio only) or 614-292-1868