Farm4Profit Podcast

Updates for Tax Planning Season w/ Kyle Woiwood CPA

Episode Summary

In this episode you will learn about the opportunities with Granular's program that help you stay more organized, informed, and prepared each year. We then explore the changes and updates to the tax code as it relates to your farm and agriculture. Gifting, estate tax, counting government payments as income, and Section 179 are just a few of the topics covered.

Episode Notes

The tax planning habits of elite farmers? 

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www.farm4profit.com - gift guide

www.walkaboutmotherbin.com - to learn more!

• Introduction
• What’s happening
  • Commercial (one minute)
    • Walkabout Motherbins The Walkabout Mother Bin is an essential piece of harvest equipment offering a large, portable grain storage solution (4,000-bu capacity) and a 22″ Elmer’s unload auger.
  • When in operation, the Walkabout Mother Bin allows the combine to run continuously, eliminating the need to stop and unload. 
  • Keep the combine running. Reduce trucks, labor and grain cart cycle times.
  • Has the ability to blend grain with front and rear flow gates.
  • The Mother Bin will allow you to keep up if you are not keeping up in your current harvest situation or if you are keeping up it will allow you to reduce your machines, trucks and labor.
• What’s working for Ag – GRANULAR (20 minutes)
  • Profitability is the primary goal of all business ventures. Without profitability the business will not survive in the long run. So measuring current and past profitability and projecting future profitability is very important.
  • Whether you are recording profitability for the past period or projecting profitability for the coming period, measuring profitability is the most important measure of the success of the business. A business that is not profitable cannot survive. “ If you aren’t farming for profit, then you won’t be farming for long”
    • To Guest: What ways do you know of farmers monitoring and recordings their profitability and break-even?

1. (1)What could our listeners accomplish by having good detailed records?
   • Making a profitable crop choice
   • Saving on inputs
   • Compare and or Benchmark
   • Have speed in decision making
2. Derecho
3. Purchases
4. Opportunity 
5. Control
   • Clear goals
   • Task oriented
   • Making changes on the fly
6. (2) Increasing profitability is one of the most important tasks of business managers. Managers constantly look for ways to change the business to improve profitability.
   • What changes have you seen farmers making to increase their profitability?
     • Variable rate technology/field scripts
     • Analyzing delivery locations, dates, basis
     • Watching expenses and invoices
   • Can Granular’s programs help with this?
     • What are some examples of how Granular can help monitor break even and profit margins?
7. Farm by farm – acre by acre levels
8. Tracking harvest
9. Talks with Deere and others
10. Schedule tasks for employees
11. Others
12. (3) Who should be paying attention or monitoring?
    • Farms of all sizes
      • Owners and employees, who else?
    • Who off the farm?
      • Accountant
      • Banker
      • Advisors?
    • Can monitoring be used to create incentive packages?
      • If you can track effectively how well your farm is doing.  Could employees be rewarded for doing a good job?
        • Give ownership and develop responsibility
        • Have any users of Granular used the program for this?
    • Our topic for today is tax preparation.  Is Granular a program that can help with this process?
    • Remind our listeners we have a partnership in place for 10% off up to $1000

• Taxes ….they still matter A LOT (Kyle Woiwood)
  •  Introduce the guest.  
    • Kyle is a Tax Director at LWBJ focusing on tax compliance & consulting. He is a CPA, graduated from UNI in 2011, & has lived in Ames since 2015. He works with many different types of clients & industries, including technology, real estate, ag, & bio-science. He enjoys visiting family and friends, golfing, all whiskey’s, and trying new craft breweries. 
  • Why is it important to have a tax planning meeting before the end of the year?
  • When you sit down with a client what is key for the farmer or ag business owner to bring with them to your meeting? 
    • Before Year End
    • After Year End
  • Why is it important to work with a CPA?
  • What are some of the updates we are facing this year as it relates to ag and ag business?
    • 2018 Farm Bill – ARC County/PLC Payments (GI)
    • Market Facilitation Payment (GI)
    • CFAP1 & CFAP 2 Payments (GI)
    • Syngenta Lawsuit Settlement Payment
    • Crop Insurance Proceeds
    • PPP or EIDL Loans
  •  Most farmers work to prepay expenses to help mitigate income levels….As an accountant what is your take on section 179?
    • Can be used for purchases and leases
  • Where do you see the tax code for AG headed if the election stands as called?
    • Estate tax, Others, etc….
  • For those who either don’t believe in tax planning, regularly take losses, or who haven’t been tax planning “winging it” what would you say to them or advice you would give them to get started?
  •  If a farm operation or farmer is reaching 3-5 years from wanting to retire, what advice would you give to begin working on that plan?
    • Suggestions for transferring assets to the next generation
    • Gifting levels?
  •  What are some questions our listeners should have prepared for their meetings with their tax preparers?
  • What do you see your top tier of clients doing that your believe got them there or keeps them there.  Both financially and on their farms in general.
  • Are there any other points you’d like to share with our listeners?
•  Summarize
• Challenge
  • Reminder
    • Granular.ag 10% off up to $1000
    • Outbackwraps.com 20% off your whole order   code FARM4PROFIT