SURE Program Sign Up & Tax Planning

SURE Program Sign Up & Tax Planning plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Well here we are into the first week of the New Year and already people are talking about getting their taxes done. Farmers and ranchers may consider some new approaches to 2009 tax planning due to income lower than previous record year according to ag economist George Patrick of Purdue University.

PATRICK: This may be a year when they want to go ahead and try and take some additional income either to avoid a net operating loss or have some of it taxed at a fairly low rate. Kind of give themselves some additional flexibility for tax management for the future.

Producers who incurred crop losses for the 2008 crop year can now sign up for the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments program. Eligible growers can apply for the program at their local USDA Farm Service Agency county office. SURE provides assistance in an amount equal to 60 percent of the difference between the SURE farm guarantee and total farm revenue. The farm guarantee is based on the amount of crop insurance and Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program coverage on the farm. Total farm revenue takes into account the actual value of production on the farm as well as insurance indemnities and certain farm program payments.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

I don’t know about you but I have never been one to make New Year’s resolutions. This year however might just be the year to start, and of course top of the list is the ever popular “lose that nagging ten extra pounds”. I actually got excited about the prospect though when I read the article about how eating cheese could help me get slimmer and stay that way. I have never found a cheese I didn’t like, some I didn’t care for as much as others, but I love most all cheeses. So imagine my surprise and utter delight when I found out that eating one ounce of cheese every day would help stoke my metabolism which in turn would help me thin up. Move over Pixie and Dixie there’s cheese to be enjoyed. In fact I think I will make a cheese diary and partake of a different cheese for every day of the week! I can list off five or six just off the top of my head; cheddar, Gouda, mozzarella, ricotta, Roquefort, and that’s just the tip of the cheese wheel! The list of cheese possibilities is practically endless. Yes sir, 2010 is looking to be a pretty good year after all. Could someone please pass the Colby Jack?

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.