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Census of Agriculture Cattle Insights
The "2017 Census of Agriculture" is a valuable source for insights related to cattle operations at the state level. There were 13,928 operations across South Dakota with cattle in 2017, and the total inventory was 3,988,183 head.
Delayed Planting Challenges: Alternative Forages
With the excessively wet planting conditions much of South Dakota is now experiencing, many producers are looking for “Plan B” to meet forage needs for their livestock, or as a commodity that can be marketed to livestock producers.
Delayed Planting Challenges: Cover Crop Considerations
High waters and saturated soils across many counties in South Dakota have producers worried about getting their crops planted in a timely manner this spring. In many areas, typical cash crops will not be a possibility. Producers may need to develop alternative plans.
Pregnancy Diagnosis in Your Cow Calf Herd
Early pregnancy diagnosis and being able to identify AI sired calves from calves sired by clean-up bulls is crucial for maximizing herd productivity and increasing economic return from your cows.
Bookwork, The Missing Management Component: Farm Income Determination
Many ag producers do not like bookwork. Many times this job gets pushed to the side, until a bill is due or taxes need to be filed. It is also fair to say it is a missing component to the management of most operations. A missing component that could lead to the collapse of the operation.
Bookwork, The Missing Management Component: Depreciation Determination and Use
Another component of determining net income is depreciation. This is one component of the Schedule F that many understand the least. Typically, the most use it gets is to minimize income tax through accelerated tax depreciation under section 179.
Bookwork, The Missing Management Component: Balance Sheet Valuations
The financial crash of the 1980’s has been attributed to changes in producer’s balance sheets, due to a decline in land prices. After this time, a two-column balance sheet was developed to help prevent that type of balance sheet collapse from occurring in the future.
Bookwork, The Missing Management Component: Consistency of Financial Records
Consistent record keeping will allow for accurate ratios and trend analysis. While operations will change, grow, or contract, having a standard operating procedure will allow for analysis and decision-making.
Income-Based Health Insurance Options
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a comprehensive health care reform law enacted in 2010 to make affordable health insurance available to more people. The law provides consumers with subsidies, otherwise known as premium tax credits, which lower costs for households with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level.
Health Insurance Benefits: Don’t Let Them Go to Waste
As the end of the calendar year approaches, does your health insurance calendar year also end? Health insurance often provides free preventive care checkups or funds for flexible savings accounts (FSA) or health reimbursement accounts (HRA).