Ozarks Farm & Neighbor Newspaper – written for, by & about farmers

Travis Ballard lives a little north of Charleston, Ark., just across from his son, T.K. Ballard. Father and son raise broiler chickens and Red Angus cattle, and share heavy equipment, fences and ideas about farming.

Having debt, repayment, and loan terms tied directly to the asset being financed is prudent for you and your lender.

"The most frequent question I get about transferring a farm from one generation to the next is ‘what’s the best way to avoid taxes?’” says Dr. Gordon Carriker, agriculture business specialist with University of Missouri Extension. “Most are surprised when I tell them that they cannot avoid taxes – there are ways to minimize taxes, but that taxes should not be their number one concern. Communicate with the children and let them know what the parents want, then formalize those desires through the available legal instruments.”

The cash generated from selling off cattle may be counted as taxable income unless farmers take advantage of tax laws allowing up to a $500,000 deduction for qualifying equipment such as livestock handling equipment, hay trailers, fencing and corral materials. Currently, the $500,000 is scheduled to drop to $125,000 in 2012, thus it is important to act in 2011.

When the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared most of Oklahoma a drought disaster area at the end of July, Arvest Bank provided information to its agricultural customers that could help them minimize losses.

Well, now that we have Trich in the area and laws to try and protect us; how do we prevent the disease? Management, management and more management. I will try and explain this in this article.