Ag-Visors

Typical hunting season Saturday morning. A hunter comes to your house kindly asking if he and his two friends can hunt on your property today? You tell them, “sure” and before you know it they are already heading out to hunt. Have you opened yourself up to a potential lawsuit if one, two or all three of those hunters get hurt, or worse yet, is killed on your farm property?

With the holidays over now, we are looking at getting ready for spring time. The first thing I think of this time of year is to make sure our mineral program is balanced right. We are headed straight into grass tetany season. I have seen grass tetany as early as the holiday season and as late as May.

Well, we are into the late fall and everyone is getting ready for winter. Some people are thinking about next spring's calf crop and wanting to know what to do to ensure the health of the calves. We have two major problems with disease, one hits the cow before the calf is born and the other hits the calf early in its life.

Farm laborers usually are not protected by the Workers’ Compensation Law unless their employer has elected to be subject to this specific law. Consequently, for the most part while a farm laborer cannot get workers’ compensation benefits for his or her injuries he or she can sue his or her farm employer for personal injuries. Also, a spouse of an injured farm laborer might have claims for loss of services and consortium. Should a farm laborer be killed or die as a result of the negligence of a farm employer, the laborer’s family might be able to sue the employer for wrongful death.

Let’s switch gears this article and talk equine. I have been getting a few calls about floating horse’s teeth lately – or to smooth or contour your horse's teeth with a file (called a "float").

Business plans. Everyone groans when they hear those words, pictures of late nights, long financial forms and tedious time-consuming work popping up in their heads. The reality, however, is far less imposing than it appears at first glance. A farm business plan is merely a tool by which farmers can assess their operations, evaluating risks and profits. By having a business plan, your agricultural lender can see at a glance how your operation stands financially and operationally, enabling him/her to make you loans in a more efficient manner.

As most everyone knows by now, there is no estate tax due on the estates of persons who die in 2010, no matter how large the estate. This is certainly good news for the family of George Steinbrenner and the families of the other 7,000 or so decedent estates that would have been affected by the estate tax law in 2010. George Steinbrenner died on July 13, 2010 and it is estimated that his family saved about $500 million because of the lapse in the federal estate tax. However, the lapse of the estate tax  is potentially bad news for the more than 70,000 decedent estates affected by the loss of “stepped-up” basis in 2010.

With fall here everyone is looking at weaning calves and getting them to the barn or selling them. Marketing calves is becoming different than in past years. We now have video sales, Internet sales, direct sales, pre-con (pre-conditioned) sales, along with the traditional sale barns. It is all about marketing our calves where we get the most out of what we have worked for this last year.

As most everyone knows by now, there is no estate tax due on the estates of persons who die in 2010, no matter how large the estate. This is certainly good news for the family of George Steinbrenner and the families of the other 7,000 or so decedent estates that would have been affected by the estate tax law in 2010. George Steinbrenner died on July 13, 2010 and it is estimated that his family saved about $500 million because of the lapse in the federal estate tax. However, the lapse of the estate tax  is potentially bad news for the more than 70,000 decedent estates affected by the loss of “stepped-up” basis in 2010.

Most of the problems with hobby loss audits involve people who have a history of losses with their ranch, farm or horse venture. The IRS tends to say that the activity is not conducted as a business, so the tax losses are disallowed. This can result in a substantial tax payment.