Does Your Farm Have a Place on Facebook?
If you haven’t taken the Facebook plunge yet, not to worry, there is plenty of time to “get social.”
Efficiency with DNA Sequencing
USDA’s Agricultural Research Service recently announced their scientists had identified a genetic “marker” linked to three diseases prevalent in feedlot cattle. The ability to identify breeding cattle that could pass susceptibility to pinkeye, foot rot and bovine respiratory disease to their offspring could save producers millions of dollars a year, and is another example of how the emerging science of DNA sequencing could bring yet more efficiency and cost benefits to the industry.
The Do’s and Dont’s of Selling to Restaurants
The popularity of local foods is easily seen when sitting down at regional restaurants in the Ozarks. At the Worman House in Big Cedar Lodge you will find an entrée made with beef from Rocking z Ranch of Mtn. Grove, Mo. Or head over to the Farmers Gastropub for meat dishes from Sunny Lane Farms of Lockwood, Mo., or pork from Flintrock Bison Ranch of Hallsville, Mo. Either way you slice it – it’s local and it’s direct from farm families in the area.
What Is your Livestock Drinking?
Blue-green algae are actually a type of bacteria, Cyanobacteria. “The bacteria contains chlorophyll, which converts sunlight into energy allowing the bacteria to grow, just as plants do,” said Dr. Dave Sparks, area food-animal quality and health specialist at Oklahoma State University.
Planning for Production Sales
"Unlike most of the cattle business where cattle are sold primarily as a commodity, purebred/registered sales are a very distinct attempt to sell a differentiated product,” said Derrell S. Peel, livestock marketing specialist at Oklahoma State University. “Thus the producer must approach marketing in a completely different fashion than a commercial cattle producer.”
Open for Business
Over the past 10 years farms are learning to diversify through incorporating agritourism, where farmers open their gates to tourists. Types of agritourism include corn mazes, pumpkin patches, hosting a farm dinner using local products, cutting down a Christmas tree on a farm, you-pick berry operations, wineries and educational farms to name a few.
Have You Properly Structured Your Ag Debt?
Having debt, repayment, and loan terms tied directly to the asset being financed is prudent for you and your lender.
Passing on the Farm
"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.”
Lowering Taxes in 2011
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.
Drying Up Your Losses
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.
