MANAGEMENT

As a Wisconsin farm kid, one of my most loved and despised memories of growing up happened during haying season – the love of the smell of hay and the dislike of repeatedly losing the hay mow stacking competition to my much taller brothers.

In the Northern Great Plains, 70 to 75 percent of annual precipitation is received between April and the end of June. Rainfall during this period is critical in order to have a “normal” or “above normal” year in terms of forage production.

Forage plant improvement programs in ryegrass, small grains and forage legumes have been and continue to be an integral part of beef production research.

It is amazing the difference in animal health on different pastures. In many cases, this can be attributed to plant health, which is a product of healthy soil. In the major commodities, there is lots of talk of cover crops for several reasons; one is soil health. With a healthy soil, there is less plant diseases and in some cases, even less insect pressure.

Tax codes on equipment trades just got trickier.

Under old tax law, a farmer could trade in farm equipment and recognize no gain or loss on the trade. For example, assume a farmer has an old combine worth $200,000 and trades it in for a new combine worth $500,000. The $200,000 trade value is essentially ignored and the tax cost basis of the new combine is simply $300,000 (the net cash paid).

Feed is the most expensive and one of the most necessary products in a ranch budget, making it no surprise that ranchers love a good discount on hay. Hay producers, on the other hand, have to decide whether or not that discount is worth the risk to their businesses.