Farm Bill Goes To Committee Wednesday, October 30th

The Farm Bill finally goes to committee tomorrow (Oct 30^th). The main difference between the two branches of Congress is the SNAP program, or better known as Food Stamps. The House is looking to cut the funding of Food Stamps by 4 billion a year whereas the Senate is looking to cut the funding by 400 million a year. 

 

The highest impact on daily life if there is no new Farm Bill or extension of the 2008 Farm Bill will be the impact on Dairy prices which will revert back to 1930’s and 1940’s permanent farm law. The effect this will have is that the government will pay quadruple the current prices it pays for dairy products, thusly switching the buyer of dairy products from the consumer to the government and therefore raising prices to the consumer as well.

Regardless of which version of the bill that is passed or whether or not a compromise is met. There will be significant savings to the government in the next Farm Bill. With the current hardships the government is facing it just makes common sense to get this piece of legislation completed. Leaving one big question....

Does common sense still exist in Congress?

Downloading the Growers Edge App from Your Android

This is the view of the home screen of your Android device.  The first step in downloading the Growers Edge mobile app is to click the button that says "Play Store."

Once you have clicked to open the Play Store, you will be on this screen.  To the left is the home screen of the Play Store.

 In order to locate the Growers Edge App you will need to type "Growers Edge" into the search bar at the top.  An example is provided to the right.




















The photo to the left shows your options within the Play Store after searching for Growers Edge.  The Growers Edge app should be the first choice.                                                
















After clicking on the Growers Edge App you will then be asked to "Install" the FREE app.  In this step you will simply click "Install" as shown to the right.

 The photo to the left is what you will see when the Growers Edge app begins downloading inside of the Play Store.




















The photo to the right shows what the downloading process of the Growers Edge app looks like on your Android device.
















The photo to the left shows how the Growers  Edge app shows up on your Android device after it has been downloaded.  It is the most recent which means that it is displayed last in the list.                                              

 You can now click on the Growers Edge app from your Android device.  Once you click it will lead you to the landing page shown on the right.  This is where you can either register as a new user, or sign in to your current Growers Edge account.

 To the left is the homepage of the Growers Edge app.  From this point you have complete access to all of the resources provided to you for FREE.

You can join 26,000 farmers across the nation who are using these free resources to gain more profits from their farming operation. Click here to sign up for the free desktop version of Growers Edge!

Downloading the Growers Edge Mobile App for iPhone

The first step in downloading the FREE Growers Edge iPhone app is to go to the App Store from your iPhone device.

Once you are inside of the App Store you can click search at the bottom.  The photo to the right shows this button highlighted in blue.

To locate the Growers Edge mobile app you will need to type "Growers Edge" into the search bar.  You will then click search.

















Once you have searched for Growers Edge you will see the Growers Edge App displayed as the top result.  To install the Growers Edge app for your iPhone a simple click on the 'free' button will download the app.

Once you have clicked the download button you will be able to see that the Growers Edge app is downloading.  Shown is the view of the app downloading within the App Store.
















The photo to the left shows the downloading process from your iPhone.

Once the Growers Edge app has fully downloaded it will show up like this on your iPhone.

















You can now access Growers Edge from you iPhone.  By clicking the Growers Edge app you will first be prompted by this welcome screen.

You will now have the option to sign in, if you are an existing member.  You can also sign up for Growers Edge within the app.  The photo to the left shows the sign in screen for the FREE Growers Edge iPhone app.











If you are new to Growers Edge and need to sign up as a new member, the photo to the right is what you will see.  Just enter you information into the required fields to gain access to all of the FREE resources that Growers Edge has to offer.

The photo to the right shows the home screen within the Growers Edge app.  From here all of the great Growers Edge resources can be accessed.












Join 26,000 farmers already using these free resources to gain more profits from their farming operation. Click here to sign up for the free desktop version!

Farming, Taxes, and Planning for the Future (Part I)

In parts of the Midwest we had snow in May and excessive rain and flooding in June, not to mention a drought over the summer months. As a result, many farmers were unable to plant their crop or will have a short crop to harvest. Thankfully, due to federal crop insurance, numerous producers had the ability to make a prevented planting crop insurance claim. As the prevented planting claims have now been worked and the checks are either in the bank or on the way, now the question on producers’ minds turns to the tax consequences associated with the prevented plant insurance indemnity and possible harvest losses.

Like other crop insurance indemnities, prevented plant insurance proceeds are subject to deferral under certain conditions. Also, deferring insurance proceeds is an all or nothing election; both prevented plant and other crop insurance indemnities are tied together for the purpose of the election. The conditions required for deferral are as follows:

1. The producer must use cash method of accounting;

2. The producer receives insurance proceeds in the year the crop is damaged; and

3. The producers can show that it is their normal business practice to market the majority of the crop in the subsequent year.

Many farmers have chosen to defer income to the subsequent year. Using current year expenses to offset prior year income has worked well as both commodity prices and expenses have fluctuated. However, changes in tax law may warrant a deeper look into your tax situation. Key provisions of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 are set to expire at the end of the year. In addition, 2013 ushered in higher income and capital gains tax rates.

Accompanying the higher tax rates, the investment income surtax took effect. All of which could create a substantial tax liability if income isn’t managed properly. With uncertainty surrounding the expiration of depreciation provisions in 2014 and substantial fluctuations in commodity prices, tax planning has become increasingly more important. As with all good tax planning, a multi-year approach should be adopted to ensure that a positive tax situation in one year does not result in a negative tax situation in future years.

Remember, the best advice is to contact your tax advisor for questions related to your operation.

Stay tuned for Part 2! And sign up for Growers Edge by clicking this link... it's free and always will be, and it only takes 1 minute!

Farm Bill Progress

 With the government shutdown officially over, real talks on the farm bill can begin. The House has appointed 29 members to the conferees following the Senates lead who appointed 12 members as conferees. While there are vast differences to the proposals brought by the two chambers of Congress, hopefully this is the step needed to bring compromise and finally give us our new farm bill. We are in desperate need of a solution so that American farmers can finally have some piece of mind and plan accordingly.

Stay tuned to this blog and our Twitter for more information on this developing story.

 To learn more on the differences of the two proposals visit FAPRI at the following link. http://www.fapri.missouri.edu/outreach/publications/2013/FAPRI_MU_Report_06_13.pdf

#GEHarvest Photo Contest

As the calendar turns to October, we are excited to welcome fall weather and all that comes along with it. We trade out berry flavors for apple and pumpkin, we trade humidity and boating for crisp air and hayrack rides, and we trade green leaves for trees bursting with yellows, oranges, and reds. It's harvest time!

To celebrate, the team here at Growers Edge wants to run a fun, friendly competition. Every farmer works the entire year to get to this point: harvesting their fields. Well, it's time to show off your yield!

During this harvest season, take a picture of your operation, your yields, your fields, or all three! Then, share those pictures on our Facebook wall or tweet those pictures using the hashtag #GEHarvest (follow us on Twitter here). You could even send pictures to growersedge@gmail.com if that's easier for you.

Along with the picture, please include what state you are located in. Also, rate your yield this year compared to your average yield (10 being your best year ever; 1 being far below your expectations). If you want to include your bushels per acre, feel free!

Below is an example of someone who tweeted a picture and included the #GEHarvest hashtag:

#GEHarvest... 45-47 b/ac. Newton ia pic.twitter.com/G53ZBS0L0w

— alan guy (@amguypom) October 1, 2013

Then at the end of harvest season, the team here will create a map of all the participating states with the average yield rating from you, the farmers! You will be able to compare harvest years across states and see how you and your state stack up!

Good luck this harvest season, and remember to check this blog and our Facebook page for updates on the harvest map!

Crop Insurance Claims May Not Be Paid During Government Shutdown

How will the government shutdown affect your claim payments?

With the shutdown, the crop insurance companies are no longer able to clear policies and claim information through the FCIC clearing house for accuracy. Insurance companies may elect to either pay the claim prior to clearing the information through the FCIC or they will delay the payment until the information has been deemed to be accurate. This could mean waiting until the government is fully restored to get paid on your claim.

If the crop insurance companies elect to pay the claim prior to clearing the information through the FCIC, there is a chance that the claim will later need to be revised. This revision could either require you to pay back a portion of the claim or could result in another payment being made.

Get more updates on crop insurance and free resources for farmers at http://www.growers-edge.com