Farm Management and Ag Policy

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.

On a recent almanac program, Nebraska extension ag policy specialist Brad Lubin laid out some of the problematic issues with passing a new farm bill.

One of the biggest obstacles that this and older farm bills has had is the snap benefits issue.

Brad says this is always the most contentious issue, and this new proposed bill is no different.

[Brad Lubben, Nebraska Extension Ag Policy Specialist]
The snap issue has been a fundamental challenge.

It's been at the heart of the Farm Bill Coalition for decades. Supplement nutrition assistance programming, what we long ago called food stamps.

That's the food assistance portion that brought the food interest and the urban interest together to form a coalition to help pass the farm bill with the farm interest.

So you had farm and food policy, or farm and food programs, as part of that coalition effort.

Well, for decades, that was the formula to getting a farm bill done in bipartisan fashion.

When the farm bill didn't get done in 23 or 24 and the language was moved to the budget reconciliation bill in 25, the budget reconciliation process is a much more partisan process, because the reconciliation rules don't require overcoming a filibuster in the Senate.

So you can imagine language or legislation moving along party lines.

The budget language that was included in 2025, increased commodity program supports, increased crop insurance supports, basically reallocated some of the conservation program dollars to establish more of a long run budget baseline, and substantially either cut or reduced snap spinning.

I say cut or reduced.

It depends on which side of the aisle you're on as to which word you want to use there.

But it substantially reduced the total expectant level of spending on Snap by establishing tighter eligibility rules, by shifting costs to the states, by proposing a revisit of the calculation of benefit rates.

All of these things look on paper, like they would reform a program, and maybe reduce errors, and reduce assistance going to ineligible individuals, but it still fundamentally looks like a cut to food assistance.

And so if the argument is about any dollars being cut from food assistance, relative to what were, in fact, dollars added to the farm site, that got through on partisan lines in a budget reconciliation process, it's not clear that that keeps the coalition together. To try and get the rest of the farm bill through on a bipartisan basis.

So Snap's a critical part of the farm bill, it's been key to the coalition that's gotten a farm bill done for more than 50 years.

It's not clear as to whether that coalition is willing to put the rest of the farm bill across the finish line.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
There is much more to cover on this important topic.

Next time, Brad talks about some of the political obstacles to passing a new bill.

You can read a detailed article or listen to the entire interview by visiting UNL Center for Ag Profitabilities website at cap.unl.edu or download from Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

For Nebraska Extension Almanac.

I'm Brad Mills.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
 

[Mike Straub, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.

On this week's episode of Nebraska Extension Almanac, former Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johannes, speaks on the importance of trade and relationships with trade partners.

[Mike Johanns, Former Secretary of Agriculture]
In the last 18 months or so, I've been in Brazil twice. 25 years ago, my message was, look, these folks are doing some things we need to pay attention.

They're going to be a big competitor.

Kind of the response I got from some was, well, they don't have any roads, they don't have railroad systems.

They don't have ports, you know, so they're not going to be much.

Well, they're a powerhouse now.

They truly are a leader when it comes to soybean production.

And if you go to Brazil, they make no secret about it.

Corn is on thorizon.

They want to be a leader in their Safrina corn crop.

And in some places, many places in Brazil, they can do a couple of crops.

So it's a real challenge for the United States.

And we see it with our relationship with China.

You know, we get in a spat with China.

Does that leave China shorter and soybeans?

No, they go to Brazil.

And if you talk to folks in Brazil about the relationship with China, they don't get all tangled up in the politics of what China may or may be doing at a given time.

They will tell you, disappoint blank.

Our job is to sell soybeats.

Um, and we're going to do everything we can to sell soybeans to China and anywhere else that we can sell soybeans.

So, like I said, if we really want to be competitive, not only do we have to be competitive in that international marketplace, but we have to be competitive in what we're doing here in the United States.

And if you're not emphasizing biodiesel ethanol, I think we're missing out on a great opportunity for corn producers, soybean producers.

You know, President Bush was very clear to me, and it was very clear to the United States trade representative.

He told us, I want you out there together.

I want you to be the team.

And I want you to build trade relationships.

I want you to get trade agreements.

He was just very, very forceful about it.

He believed that trade was an opportunity for us to win.

He would maintain, and I said the same thing, level of the plane filled, and Nebraska farmers and ranchers gonna win.

U.S. Farmers and ranchers are gonna win, because we produce just unbelievable products in this state and in this country.

What I experienced in talking to ministers from other countries, whether it was Canada, Mexico, or India, or wherever, was that they wanted predictability.

China was the same way, you know?

China wanted to be able to rely upon the fact that they had a trading partner that was predictable, that they could get their soy beans from our country.

Let's not be mistaken about this.

There were trade irritations all the time.

I mean, that was constant.

I spent a tremendous amount of my time as secretary D line with those kinds of trade irritations.

But at the end of the day, I felt very, very strongly that if farmers and ranchers were going to be successful.

I had to lead the way to open up markets and to level the playing field.

And it just was extremely important.

When I became Secretary, There were 145 countries or something.

We can sell our beef.

Here we're raising this unbelievable product.

And literally, we've got no place to market it.

And so, you know, work very hard to get that straightened out, but, again, that was just a piece of what I did.

So, I'm a believer that you can fight for fair trade and negotiate good trade agreements for farmers and ranchers.

But there has to be a predictability about what we do that's extremely important.

Our trading partners need to rely upon the fact that today and tomorrow, that market will be open.

[Mike Straub, Program Host]
For Nebraska Extension Almanac.

I Mike Straub.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR media, and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
 

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.

Sustainability, soil health, and water quality are key components to every farm and ranch operation.

Extension habitat management specialist, Andy Little, says conservation and sustainability can include areas on the operation that promote wildlife and game bird habitats.

He encourages farmers to look into taking unused or difficult to farm areas, and try making these habitats which may lead to a future revenue stream.

Well, I can say personally my passion. Is around how do we help landowners optimize their operation.

And so I'm, my driving force every day I wake up is how can we, with this research and extension, because I'm also an extension specialist at university.

Um, how can we take this information, get it into the hands of landowners so that it actually is helping them make more informed decisions on their operations?

And particularly, as I alluded to earlier, the Stackable Enterprise arena.

That is where we're, I'm very invested because we, what we are seeing in the state of Nebraska and many other states, as we're seeing obviously sole health issues.

Um, we've seen water quality issues in particular across the state of Nebraska, you look at Iowa's and other illustration.

Um, a lot of challenges there.

And so every farmer that I've met with is insure it wants to ensure the long-term sustainability of their operation.

And so I come back and say, okay, if these, what are the friction points, if you want to say, for you and your operation, how can we make that easier and finding ways to adopt some of these practices and usually what I hear, especially on some of the conservation programs is, hey, it just doesn't pencil out financially.

So then I can't really, in my role, I can't change conservation programs, but I can totally find other ways to help them, think about other alternative opportunities beyond maybe a conservation program.

And maybe it's a conservation program plus something else, like a hunting lease or plus something else in your operation where you have a little diversity.

And it's not asking to convert massive amounts of acreage.

It can just be small amounts of your property where, and that's one of the things always also tell people a lot about is just try something small.

Just take, say you have just a couple acres and you're like, hey, let's just try this out and see how it works. Know, do a little experimentation.

We have the one farm research network at university.

It's another great opportunity to collaborate with them, um, and test out some ideas as well.

And then you get some of these folks will help you out and designing something research project around your questions and be able to implement that.

And so really, the the value to me is, I'm looking at the future legacy and what we're leaving and how can we take and leave that lasting legacy to our kids or grandkids in one down the line by establishing these holistic operations where we're balancing out conservation and production.

And there is really no cookie cutter approach, and now you're going to get it done. Everybody's going to be different.

But finding innovative ways that we can help landowners optimizer operation from that profitability side.

Because if we can't do that, it's going to be a little harder to, you know, look at, hey, I'm putting taking land out of production to your earlier and put it into something else.

Well, we need to say if it pays, it stays.

That's just the reality of it.

So if it pays economically for you by diversifying, um, through stackable enterprises, that's part of what my lab's doing right now or helping to address those risks and helping to develop basically pathways so that landowners can actually, they're, again, reducing these friction points so that they can say, oh, okay, I have somebody can kind of help me along this trajectory to diversify and look at something a little differently on my operation.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
For Nebraska extension almanac.

I'm Brad Mills.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR media and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans.

Go to extension.unl.edu.
 

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.

Congress has made significant progress in coming up with a new farm bill, but getting it passed is an entirely different matter.

Extension specialist, Brad Lubin says, a farm bill has passed the house, but policy issues and political uncertainty has begun to bog it down in the Senate.

He begins today's program by looking back at where the farm bill has come, and some of the frustrations that might prevent it from moving forward.

[Brad Lubben, Nebraska Extension Ag Policy Specialist]
The road has been long and frustrating for sure.

The current farm bill that still technically exists is the 2018 farm bill that was expired in 2023.

When we didn't get something done in Congress, It was extended for one year to 24.

It was extended another year again to 25.

You noted some of the policy changes that were dealt with in the budget bill in 25, but the rest of the bill expired yet again.

Another one year extension gets us to 26, And here we are again, waiting on congressional action to try and get a farm bill done or yet wondering if it's destined for another extension.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Brad details how the House of Representatives passed a bill back in April, where it had bipartisan support.

Brad says, the Senate has to take a different approach to make it past any possibility of a filibuster.

He says one of the major problems is the upcoming election that could possibly destroy any plans of this bill passing the Senate.

[Brad Lubben, Nebraska Extension Ag Policy Specialist]
Yeah, the Senate has moved a bill out of committee, but it still faces an uncertain fate on the floor of the Senate.

It's worth backing up, though, to what the House did back in April.

The House did pass a farm bill, out of committee, and across the four, with bipartisan support.

It basically reauthorized what we call the skinny farm bill, the parts of the bill outside of commodities, crop insurance, conservation, and snap, the parts that were addressed in the budget bill last year.

The Senate has to take, arguably, a more by the Senate has to take a more bipartisan approach than even the House, because it has to figure out how to get over a 60 vote filibuster threat on the floor of the Senate.

The bill that came out of committee does make some overtures to the necessary bipartisan support.

It included an amendment to delay some of the proposed cost shifts in the snap program, cost shifts from the budget reconciliation bill that would shift part of the cost of benefits and the snap program to states based on error rates.

Well, the Senate farm bill does include language that would include a one year delay in that shift.

That was not enough to get any bipartisan supporting committee.

And so it came out of committee on a 12/11 party line vote.

How it gets across the Senate 4, where it does have to find some bipartisan support to get past the filibuster, is still a real challenge.

And in fact, that challenge won't even happen until after the election, in a lame deck session of Congress.

By that point, the election results will also matter.

They may dictate, well, they certainly will dictate who will have power in the next Congress.

And that may either dictate a more congenial discussion and compromise here in the lame duck session of Congress, or it could also basically propel the partisanship and the desire to try and push off the decision yet again for another year, so that a renewed debate could start again in the new Congress.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Stay tuned for future programs where Brad discusses more on this issue.

Next time, Brad will talk about how the snap food assistance policy has always been a sticking point when it comes to passing a farm bill.

For Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR media and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans.

Go to extension.unl.edu.
 

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.

We've recently had several programs discussing wildlife and game bird habitat creation and promotion on our program.

Extension habitat management specialist Andy Little, returns to talk about a research program at UNL that has been studying wildlife habitat, and says it's a critical part of conservation, as well as something farmers should consider to pursue another line of revenue on their operation.

[Andy Little, Nebraska Extension Habitat Management Specialist]
The research started back in 2021.

And so that project was designed to start targeting, basically, areas within the rainwater basin, so kind of like Grand Island East to Lincoln, the other study areas in northeast Nebraska and about like 8 or 9 counties up there.

And so in each of those sites, we went in and we generated a bunch of, we call them crow count points.

And so basically what that means is there are a bunch of generated points, randomized points in a landscape, and then we send out teams of our students, biologists, et cetera, um, to go out to those points and they're listening for about 3 minutes at each of those points throughout basically the, um, uh, breeding season for pheasants.

So kind of that, I would say basically like the 1st week April, um, uh, into basically early part of June, essentially is kind of the sampling time frame.

And so our team will go to each of those points 3 times and during that window of time, and they would basically listen for 3 minutes and record down, hey, how many birds, how many pheasants am I hearing crowing?

We use all that data on the back end to then start combining that with satellite imagery, of land cover out there in a landscape.

And then we combine all of this stuff together.

And basically a modeling platform, uh, which then allows us to be able to identify and prioritize these folkwareas.

So listeners may be aware of like the focus on pheasant areas, the Nebraska and Parks Commission is established across the state, and that's essentially is kind of further refining them and being able to start building out those, like I mentioned earlier, stepping stones, if you want to say, of saying, hey, you know, are there ways that we can work together with the neighboring landowners, to start building out connectivity to some of these other existing patches, because what happens, and I've had people say this, like, you know, um, you, I put in a practice and I'm not seeing necessarily the return on investment that I expected.

And then you zoom out from the property and you say, well, there's really no connection of other types of, say, grassland and Ford communities that are really scaled out around that.

And so you kind of get what I like to say is an island.

And that island is it's hard and you could have an island and still be productive, but if it's a pretty small island, you know, eventually the birds, you know, you're not going to have a lot of birds moving into and out of that area because they, you know, especially when the crops are off in the fall and winter, because they're a higher risk of predation. And other sorts of mortality as we're going out, say, through an open cornfield.

Obviously in the summer, they can totally move around and about, you know, those fields and stuff.

Um, but one of the things today is, you know, there's not a lot of incentive for a lot of birds to move out into the middle of a field because there's not usually a lot of diversity of insects that are out there or other types of uh, plant communities because usually it's the crop and then the soil.

And so they usually spend a lot of time around the peripheries of those fields.

Ultimately, a couple of the big things come out of that is we basically have identified that strategic targeting of habitat is really, really critical, especially in highly fragmented landscape so we see today.

And that's no different than when we kind of go back into the 60s.

And we say, well, pheasants, they don't they don't need a big, huge block of cover necessarily.

They need mixtures of different cover types on the landscape.

So they do need crop fields, kind of interspersed with those grassland patches.

But those grassland patches can't necessarily be just a thick, you know, uh, or thick dense cover to the point where it doesn't provide any of that brood ring cover that I alluded to earlier because that's where you, that's one of the limitations.

You got to think about kind of the what they need biologically throughout the season.

And so with all of that, it gives us opportunity to start saying, okay, how can we be more strategic with those investments and getting out and meeting with landowners and really engaging to build those kind of complexes, if you want to say out.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
For Nebraska extension almanac, I'm Brad Mills.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR media, and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
 

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.

Some farmers might be hesitant to seemingly take away valuable crop land to uses wildlife habitat.

Nebraska Extension Habitat management specialist Andy Little says, there are good financial reasons to protect and promote wildlife habitat.

On today's almanac.

Andy talks about why protecting game birds and other wildlife could be profitable.

[Andy Little, Nebraska Extension Habitat Management Specialist]
So in general, what you hear a lot is, well, if I put in, especially, and I'll use Eastern Nebraska's good illustration.

We have fairly high soul rental rates in this part of the state compared to Western Nebraska.

So if you look in general, across the state, you tend to see more CRP conservation reserve program, uh, lands enrolled out in western Nebraska, southwest and western panhandle, because it's, you know, basically the, there's an opportunity there, this whole rental rates are substantially less than a lot of cases.

And so then it makes sense financially to put those practices in.

Here in eastern Nebraska.

It's a little harder and it's harder for folks to justify with current prices, commodity prices.

And so, um, to answer original question, yes, there's an opportunity there.

And that's really what we're looking at is, is you can build in not only having your main, you know, kind of breadwinner, you know, say corn soy beans, but you can take and strategically target marginal acres where you're consistently losing money by using things like yield monitor data.

So everybody, you know, who's driving a combine in the fall, they get the, you'll monitor data right in the combine.

And so they're seeing those areas that are consistently low yielding.

We can take those areas out of production, put them into alternative practices, and it doesn't have to be necessarily like CRP, because there's only so much money in that bucket, and that's something we're working on right now is actually some, you know, kind of additional stackable enterprises.

Could be grazing acres, it could be hunting lease, could be a, you know, hey, you want to put an apiary out there?

You want to get some bees.

Um, you, really the, the, the sky's a limit on your creativity, but the ultimate goal that we're trying to get at is how do we help people diversify, especially when you're in current situations like with the stuff going on and over in the Middle East, where nitrogen prices now have been really skyrocketed.

Um, and then you have other costs for the farm really skyrocketing.

And so how can we strategically work on diversifying your financial portfolio so that when you do have bad times come in, which inherently it's going to happen at some point or another, whether it's weather, you know, whatever, and there's going to always be challenges like that.

You do have some other streams of income that can help and diversify in your operation, help pay those bills.

So.

One good way for farmers to profit off these techniques is a hunting lease.

Andy says, using problematic areas on the farm, could be a good opportunity to make money from a hunting lease.

So there's there's a couple of different ways that people have done hunting leases.

So one is, um, right now they, the Rescue Parts Commission has the open fields and waters program, and so they basically that program was specifically designed to help open up access, um, across the state, for people who are wanting to be able to hunt, to recreate, hunt, fish, et cetera.

Um, and so people can obviously go learn more about that at their website and there's, they can contact with their local areas.

But the point is, is that yeah, that, um, there, that's an opportunity.

The other opportunity is, um, just simply, hey, I'm, you know, have, if outside of the open fields of water, I just want to take and have a component of my property that I'm not really making much money on, and I can take and put that into conservation program or something else, habitat wise, and I got people want to deer hunt or pheasant hunt or whatever, and then people will pay for it.

You know, we're talking 1000s upon 1000s of dollars, people paid either have a hunting lease, a hunting operation, that they want to be able to come and hunt their recreationally every year.

I see it all the time.

They're actually kind of like the, there's different platforms now.

Some of them are more like the Airbnb experience, if you want to say.

Um, and you kind of say, hey, I want to come hunt these couple of days.

And then, yeah, you're basically paying a landowner for access to hunt their property.

And so, yeah, there's definitely a market.

There's absolutely a big market.

There are lots of money in hunting industry.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Stay tuned for future programs where Andy talks about deeznuts program at the university that is studying this issue and using it to help game birds thrive again in this state.

For Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
 

[Mike Straub, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.

With farming and ranching, comes busy schedules.

Disasters we may face every day are not always front of mind.

Statewide disaster education coordinator for Nebraska Extension, Sawny Cochran, talks about the importance of being prepared for the many disasters producers in Nebraska face, affecting their land, livestocks, and families.

[Soni Cochran, Nebraska Extension Disaster Education Coordinator]
We're talking about being prepared, so planning, preparing and then steps you could take to protect your family, your livestock, and your community.

So we're doing all hazards.

And, yeah, there's been a lot of fires, but it's almost been statewide as well.

So we had some fires early on in Eastern Nebraska, and we're getting into harvest season.

We're gonna want to think about fires and preparedness with our equipment as we get into the fields, as well.

You have equipment that might get hot as you're going down the rows, and sometimes we have leaves, and stalks get up into those combines, and other pieces of equipment.

You know, it could be that you're in an ATV or UTV, and you accidentally happened to drive across really dry grass.

And just because we've had some rain doesn't mean we're still at risk for fires.

So one thing people can do, as well, is when you are, you know, you have a trailer, you have a truck.

Make sure those chains are up, so they're not gonna spark along the concrete or asphalt, and accidentally catch fire as you go along roadways.

Having communications equipment with you, Having a plan, or a map of your farm, or ranch, or acreage.

So first responders know where to go, and that map is located in a place when they enter the property, that they know where the gates are.

They know where the wrists are.

They know where the chemicals are, the fuel is.

You know that bull.

Where is that bull that might be on your property?

So we have a lot of resources we can help people with and talk through.

And, you know, if you're living in a small town, maybe you have a farmer ranch and, you know, your parents are out there.

You're out there, but your parents are in town.

You know, talk about those things as well.

Do you have a quick go bag you can grab?

That's what we're talking about here?

Do you have an emergency kit if there's a flood or tornado, and you've got to be in place for a few days because first responders can't get to you?

Do you have a weather radio?

Do you have, you know, your phones charged?

Do you have that list of, who you can call, and write that down, that number, all our cell phones, have that in our phones as, My son is like, Ben.

Well, that doesn't help me know what his phone number is if my cell phone isn't working.

So it's really important to have all those pieces, no matter where you live.

So I think one of the things that's really helpful is learn about your community, okay?

And check on your neighbors, take care of your neighbors.

I mean, even if it's really hot.

Not today, hot, cold, whatever it might be, you can also, you know, take classes.

So find out where there's a CPR class that you can take, so you can protect your family compute.

You can volunteer.

There's different organizations whether it's, you know, community emergency response teams.

If you get involved with scouting, if you get involved with your American Legion or VFW, whatever it might be, to try and make sure the entire community has those resources, again.

Those first responsors, responders, your emergency manager, your volunteer fire department, they're gonna be busy responding to that, and at the same time, you can take steps to protect your family, check in on neighbors, and think about the emergency plans.

What are the emergency plan for your local school?

Your local faith based group.

Is it your church?

What is their emergency plan?

Where are the shelters in your community?

Figure out all those things ahead of time, and then get engaged with those your emergency managers say, What else can I do to help?

Your county officials, your mayor, you know, they may already have some meetings that the community can join in to all come together to learn how they can better protect their community.

[Mike Straub, Program Host]
For Nebraska Extension Almanac.

I'm Mike Straub.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR media, and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
 

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.

Pheasant hunting in Nebraska is a time honored tradition.

On today's almanac, extension specialist Andy Little talks about how pheasants came to this country, and what farmers and acreage owners can do to promote a habitat where they can thrive?

[Andy Little, Nebraska Extension Habitat Management Specialist]
They were brought over from China back in the late 1800s, here to North America.

Um, a lot of, and basically the primary reason was uh, individuals wanted to be able to hunt pheasants over here.

And so they brought them over here and started introducing them into various states in particular across the United States and obviously Nebraska and the Midwest.

It was a designated location for releasing pheasants.

And so, uh, we released pheasants again, you know, kind of late 1800s.

And actually this year, interestingly enough, in Nebraska is the 100th year of pheasant hunting uh, in Nebraska.

And so again, it's uh, they've been around for quite a while.

Populations of pheasants in Nebraska, really peaked back in the, I'd say about the 50s, 60s time period, and a lot of that was due to crop diversity.

We had at that time, you know, in some places, 5 to 6 different types of crops being grown.

And so crop diversity was pretty important to them and really that kind of speaks to their need to have a lot of different types of cover in the landscape.

We can probably dive into that more in a moment.

Um, but at the end of the day, yeah, they, they were brought over here late 1800s, North America, and then continued to expand across the country as people were wanting to, you know, primarily from a recreational standpoint for hunting.

So.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Andy talks about what the ideal pheasant habitat is to help them nest, reproduce, and have protection from harsh weather and predators.

[Andy Little, Nebraska Extension Habitat Management Specialist]
So we'll kind of started like the nesting cover side of things in the spring.

So right now, birds are kind of the peak point of nesting for pheasants.

Um, so they they want to obviously have some level of concealment.

So we think of, um, a mixture of Forbes and Grasses.

Uh, and so people think uh, immediately of like CRP conservation reserve program fields, uh, that may have a little bit more of a, um, uh, diversity there of both, again, grasses and Forbes, just to have some level of structure.

So when she puts a nest in, Um, she can still be able to see potential predators.

You'll see pheasants, especially nowadays as we have, you know, again, peak back in the 50s and 60s.

Populations have continued to decline across the state of Nebraska and many states.

Um, what you actually see is birds will be nesting in, you know, roadside ditches because in cases like that.

Those roadside dishes are really all they have available to them.

Um, and then when you get to the brood running stage, once that nest hatches, the uh, chicks are going to need uh, more open kind of bare ground mixed with Forbes, they can find insects, but they can move around quickly.

And similar to turkey, uh, poults.

One of the things with pheasants is if, in that 1st, especially a couple weeks of life when they just hatch out, they can't really thermal regulate very well.

And so if it gets like a cool night and you got a lot of moisture and say you have, um, you know, like brome, you know, in your pasture, for example, it's really dense.

If they get in there, they can actually die from hypothermia because they get moisture on them and they can't thermal regulate.

And so you really want to have a diversity of kind of open areas.

And the way I always tell people to do this is if you want to know you have brooder in habitat, take a little kid's monster truck or a tennis ball and try to roll it through the area where you think is brood rearing cover.

If it stops immediately, that's not quality brooder and cover because they're not likely to get through there.

Now, if they, you can roll it through and there's some open areas, bare ground, then sure, they can definitely get to that.

And then you get later in the summer into the fall time period, you know, when most people are hunting them, they're thinking of kind of the taller 4 foot tall vegetation, the CRP fields.

That's what most people are obviously visualizing and thinking, hey, this is what quality pheasant cover is into a point, yes, but at the end of the day, you have to look it up from a life stage standpoint, because that really thick cover, maybe in that fall winter time frame is not really going to be the ideal cover for, say, brood rearing, because they need to have those mixtures of those different cover types really within a pretty uh, to each other in a landscape.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Stay tuned to future almanac programs where Andy discusses pheasant population decline in Nebraska.

For Nebraska Extension Almanac.

I'm Brad Mills.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
 

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.

UNL Center for Ag Profitability has a resource that helps match aspiring producers with landowners who want to see their legacy continue.

It's called the Nebraska Landlink, and on today's program, Extension Educator Emeritus, Alan Benalik, talks about how owners should prioritize their goals, and their legal documents before any transition plans are put into place.

[Alan Vyhnalek, Nebraska Extension Educator Emeritus]
I want people to start thinking about what happens to their stuff when you pass, when you're gone.

Do you have plans or your plans in place?

Do you and your spouse, if you have one or have another partner, business partner, you have to get that set 1st before you could even consider thinking about getting into the whole landing program or interviewing someone for the landing program.

Next, what is your estate plan?

Do you have your end of life documents in place?

How old are they?

If they're more than 5 years old, you probably need to review them and maybe make some adjustments, make some amendments.

Do they need to be updated?

And when I talk about estate plans.

I'm talking about end of life documents, things like your healthcare power of attorney, your healthcare directive, and your business power of attorney or the or the durable power of attorney.

And then I'm also talking about your will or trust or LLC.

Are those in good shape?

But now we're going to talk about what happens to your ag operation?

Do you plan to have that I operation succeed and do you have the documents in place for that to happen properly?

If you're bringing a land seeker into your operation to help or work to work or hopefully take over, have all that kind of in place 1st before you think about this.

It's important that you think about what income you're going to need from your operation later in life.

If you're unable to contribute to the operation and you're no longer providing labor, maybe management, but no labor.

What income are you going to need to live off of?

Where do you plan to go?

Do you have aspirations to do trips?

Do you have aspirations to take vacations?

And how does that be adjusted given where we're at with these land seekers and what are we going to expect those land seekers to pay?

We can't put them under the bus in terms of them being able to pay or they're not going to want to stay with our operation very long.

Where do you expect that income to come from?

I don't know, there are a lot of people could just live off their social security, some people can.

But a lot of people don't necessarily.

And if you're no longer able to do the work, if you're no longer a part of your operation, where do you plan to live?

Do you still plan to live out on the farm?

Are you going to have home in-home healthcare?

How's that going to work if you become incapacitated?

What do you plan to do?

Let's have a plan for that.

Let's think about what those options might.

And how about to control the operation?

Uh, you know, the famous story is that a 65 year old said uh, to one of the farm succession people, uh, when is it appropriate to give control of your operation to your son?

And that farm succession counselor knew that this 65 year old had a 3540 year old on the farm.

And you said, well, you know, if your son's 35, 40 years old, been with you 10 or 15 years, start time to start giving up control.

And a 65 year old goes, no, I'm not talking about.

My son, I'm talking about my 90 year old father.

When's he going to give up control?

Because right now, my son and I get into the truck and we drive over to his place every morning to get directed.

So what we ought to do every day?

So there's that story and lies what's happening with a lot of the of our landowners and a lot of our old-time farmers, they never really want to retire and they always want to maintain control.

I'm not being critical of that, but you have to think about how you're going to handle that control.

And where would you plan to give that up?

And how are you going to give that up?

And if you plan to give it up, Yes, yes, good, fine.

But who are you going to give it up to?

Are you giving it up just to your children?

Are you giving up to this new land seeker?

How do you want your operation to go forward?

So think about those big picture goals.

What do I need from my operation for income?

What do I need for my operation, for where I'm going to live?

How do I get to transfer control?

How am I going to transfer my assets?

Who are my assets going to go to before you start this interview process with the land seeker, thinking about what you need to make sure you have in place?

And of course, be sure you communicate this with your children, if you have children involved, and absolutely be sure you are in agreement with your spouse.

Today's program was a portion of an interview taken from the Farmcast podcast offered by UNL Center for Ag Profitability to hear the entire program.

Go to cap.unl.edu or download from Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

For Nebraska Extension Almanac.

I'm Brad Mills.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
 

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Nebraska Extension Almanac.

Planning your succession and transition is an extremely important part of your family's farms operation future success.

We've been discussing these issues for some time on past programs, and today, extension ag economist Jessica Grosskoff talks about whether a family trust is right for you and other issues like family heirlooms.

[Jessica Groskopf, Nebraska Extension Ag Economist]

The most common way to bypass the probate process is by using a trust.

Okay?

Not everyone needs a trust.

Again, this is the you may want or need.

A trust it is not required.

A trust does not replace your will.

It complements your will.

Well, what is a trust?

A trust is a bucket.

Basically, it's like a container that holds your assets and helps with that process of transferring them.

The cool part about a trust or this trust bucket is that you get to write the rules of how the assets are used, who benefits from those assets and how the assets are removed from the bucket.

Now I want to be very clear here.

Not everyone needs a trust.

It does avoid the probate process.

The only thing that I see or one of the things that I see with trust is that if we create a trust, we have to put things in the bucket.

Okay?

So there is a physical process of what they call funding the trust that must be done.

So, my assets, if it was my trust, would no longer be titled to Jessica Grosskoff.

They would be titled to the Jessica Grosskoff living trust.

The important part about this is in the state of Nebraska, there's a limit to how many assets you can own prior to the probate process, which I believe is currently $100,000.

So if I have more than $100,000 sitting outside my trust, we're going to trigger a probate.

So that's why we have to make sure that everything goes into the trust bucket.

Again, this is not a replacement for a will.

It is a compliment to the will.

And basically what will happen is your will will say everything goes into the trust.

We call this a pour over or residuary clause in the trust.

Your will is very simple.

Moving forward are funeral instructions.

These typically are not legally binding documents.

Funeral instructions are just usually the 1st thing that your family is going to look for.

And if you have strong feelings about what you want.

As far as a funeral is concerned, you can place those in funeral instructions.

And the final piece is the bequests of personal property.

I will tell you that more fights happen over things like heirlooms, that causes more fights in families than anything else.

Quickly, an attorney is not going to allow you to put those personal property items in the will.

They're going to ask you to create a list called a bequest of personal property list.

Please do this and do it the right way.

In Nebraska.

It can be typed or it can be handwritten.

However, it must be signed and dated.

So basically, it's a description of the item and who it goes to.

It does not require an attorney signature or anything.

You just have to keep this list and they usually will give you like a form to write this out on.

Do not.

Play the put the sticky note on the back of something game.

Do not do that.

Why?

It's not legally binding, and magically, there are 2 sticky notes.

There's one on the back and one on the bottom.

Magically there's 2 different handwritings.

Magically, the sticky note just fell off.

Again, if we're talking about reducing the tension within our family, let's do things the legally correct way.

And in the state of Nebraska, that's a bequest of personal property list.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

There are detailed articles and other podcasts on this topic of succession and transition on UNL Center for ag profitabilities website at cap.unl.edu, or download from Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

For Nebraska Extension Almanac.

I'm Brad Mills.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Nebraska Extension Almanac.

Throughout the past few weeks, we've been focusing on succession, transition, and estate plans for farm families.

It's difficult, but necessary planning is critical to the future success of the operation, and keeping the farm in the family.

Extension ag economist Jessica Grosskoff, talked about the difference between succession plans and estate plans on part one.

She begins today's program by talking about the end of life or incapacity issues, and the legal documents you'll need to carry out your wishes.

[Jessica Groskopf, Nebraska Extension Ag Economist]

The 2nd 3rd and 4th document that are on this list have to deal basically with your end of life or your incapacity.

So I often think about these in the event of disability or incapacity, the most obvious one being something like Alzheimer's.

Okay?

So the 1st is a power of attorney and depending on how you set this up, it could be a durable power of attorney or general power of attorney.

And basically this person is an agent who will take care of the business aspects that you assign to them through the power of attorney document.

Again, I like to think about this in the in the event of disability or incapacity, but you can define when it is in force and what actions this person can take through the power of attorney document. 3 and 4, maybe separate documents, but they may be combined.

I've seen it both ways.

It just depends on what your attorney who's preparing the documents prefers.

So the next item is a power of attorney for healthcare.

This is someone who can make healthcare decisions on your behalf.

And then the final document is a living will or a healthcare directive that basically states what kind of care you want.

Okay?

So again, 3 and 4 can be combined.

The thing that's important here is that the 1st document, a will is only enforced after your death.

Items 2, 3, and 4 are only enforced while you are alive, and they expire at death.

So let's think about who we are putting in each of these positions.

The 1st thing is that I do not like to see co, personal representatives or co powers of attorney.

The problem with naming 2 people to that position is that basically you are forcing them to make decisions together, and that often causes tension within families.

So what I like to say is you want to pick the best person for the role.

So think about who the right person is for that role and name one person to each role.

The other thing I will say is it often, More smooth if we can make the power of attorney and the personal representative the same person.

If I am the power of attorney and I'm dealing with your business decisions prior to your death, then I pretty much have the information or have a lot of information that I will need to be your personal representative after death.

Okay?

So again, I also like to think about the ease of that transition between dealing with your business affairs prior to death and then after death.

I typically like those to be the same.

They can be different.

It's not required, but having seen families go through this process, I think it's more smooth when that happens.

The other piece about this is you might be sitting here thinking, Well, Jessica, I already have these things in place, but I'm just not really sure.

Any of these documents can be updated or replaced at any time, given that you are competent.

So while you are alive, you can update these documents.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Stay tuned for future programs on this important topic of the critical legal documents for farm families.

For Nebraska Extension Almanac.

I'm Brad Mills.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.

Jessica4LegalDocs126 Transcript:

[Brad Mills Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.

We've been going through a lot of detailed discussion surrounding succession plans for family farm operations recently.

On today's program, extension ag economist Jessica Groskoff talks about the difference between succession plans and estate plans, and why that is so critical to the operation's future success.

[Jessica Groskopf, Nebraska Extension Ag Economist]
The last type of planning that we talk about, when we talk about complete succession planning, is estate planning.

Well, Jessica, isn't that the same thing?

No, no, it is not.

Estate planning is a huge component of this, but I will promise you, an estate plan does not make a succession plan.

Having an estate plan in place basically tells the government what you want done at your death.

It basically allows assets to be passed. From one person to another person through a legal process.

It does not teach someone how to manage a farm or a range business.

And this is where farm and range families get stuck.

So you might have an estate plan in place, and you might be thinking, oh, well, we're good.

No, you're not.

We have to have all 4 components of the planning process in place in order to make sure that this farm or this ranch or business can survive the death of the oldest generation.

And it it includes 4 basic documents.

Every adult within a farm or a range business in the state of Nebraska, an adult is 19 years.

And up, okay?

So 4 basic documents, you need a will, a will, basically what a will does is says, I want these things to go to these people.

It also assigns a guardian for your minor children, and it assigns what we call in Nebraska a personal representative, and that person has the joy and pleasure of making sure that these assets go to these people.

Assets that pass through the will are subject to a process called probate.

Well, what is probate?

Probate is that physical process of retitling those assets to these people.

Probate gets a bad rap for a couple of reasons, number one, probate is public.

Number two, probate can be costly because some attorneys will charge a percentage of the estate that is probated.

So if you're going through the probate process, I actually encourage you to find an attorney who charges by the hour, not as a percentage of the assets.

And number three, probate can take quite a bit of time.

So if we're running a farm or a ranch business.

And we have said that these assets will go to these people and it takes 2 years for that to happen, that, um, is difficult for a farmer arranged business to keep operating during that time.

It just creates a lot more complexity.

Now, in Nebraska, whether you like it or not, whether your assets are probated or not, your estate will still be public because in Nebraska, we have Nebraska inheritance tax.

So avoiding probate because of the public manner of it.

Honestly isn't really an argument because if somebody wants to be nosy and they want to find out what you passed, at your death, they will be able to look that up because of the inheritance tax regardless of whether your assets were probated through a will.

If you die without a will, you will be subject to Nebraska intestate laws, which basically is the default rules of the state of Nebraska of how your assets will be passed.

Most people say, well, it'll just go to my spouse.

Not in the state of Nebraska.

No one, no one likes the government's plan for anything.

So if you write a will, that will supersede the state laws.

So again, we recommend that you have a will just to supersede the state loss.

[Brad Mills, Host of This Program and Soon To Be Retired]
Stay tuned for future programs, where Jessica continues to focus on legal issues surrounding a complete estate plan for your family farm.

For Nebraska extension almanac.

I'm Brad Mills, Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IE&R Media and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans.

Go to extension.unl.edu.
 

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Nebraska Extension Almanac.

On our final look at the important topic of Sunset retirement planning for farm and ranch owners, Extension Agaconomist Jessica Grosskov talks about what you should be discussing with a financial planner.

On today's program, she dives into the topic of mapping out some key financial issues that you should be talking about with a professional as well as long-term healthcare.

[Jessica Groskopf, Nebraska Extension Ag Economist]

What is your withdrawal strategy?

If you do have retirement accounts or a pension plan, um, or some sort of investments, there are different rules around those types of accounts, and each account is slightly different.

And so there is actually a physical strategy.

Physical strategy um, that you need to have to withdraw those funds.

So if you are approaching retirement age, and you have retirement accounts, you need to work with an advisor to develop the strategy for removing those funds from those accounts.

And again, it really depends on the types of accounts that you have.

And something I think that financial advisors need to do a better job of is explaining the strategy for removing funds from those accounts based on your goals and what you want to happen during your sunset years.

What are your plans for long-term care?

Long term care is one of the biggest concerns that farmers and ranchers have.

And there are 3 ways that we can pay for long-term care.

The 1st way is we can qualify for Medicaid.

Medicaid is different than Medicare.

Medicaid is the poverty program for low income people to receive, um, medical support, which will cover or can cover long-term care.

However, There's a 5 year look back period on Medicaid, and it limits the number of assets that you can have control of in order to be able to qualify for it.

So in other words, enabled in order to be able to qualify for Medicaid, we are basically going to push you below the poverty line.

In a strategic manner, so that you qualify for the program and we have to do that at least at least 5 years before you enter the long term care.

And I will tell you before you decide that that's the path that you want to take.

You need to go visit, the long-term care facilities in your community, and look at the Medicaid available rooms.

I promise you, there are very limited options in our rural communities, and you probably aren't going to like those options.

The other thing is that currently, because of the limited options, often, you will have to travel to find a Medicaid eligible facility in rural Nebraska.

So, that was option number one is qualifying for Medicaid.

Option number 2 is having insurance or a long-term care rider that would be available to you.

So you either have purchased long-term care insurance, which is most affordable between the ages of 55 and 65 or you might have a life insurance policy or an annuity that has a long-term care writer attached to it.

Now, long term care insurance probably isn't as good as it used to be.

They obviously are having more folks inter long-term care as we watch baby boomers age. Into long-term care, and so, the options for long-term care insurance aren't as good as maybe as they were 10 or 20 years ago.

You need to read the fine print of your long-term care insurance policy and your long-term care writer to know exactly what type of coverage that you have.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

A full series of podcasts on farm succession and transition are available at UNL Center for Ag Profitabilities website.

Just visit cap.unl.edu or download from Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

For Nebraska Extension Almanac.

I'm Brad Mills.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Nebraska Extension Almanac.

A lot of farm owners have built their operation over decades by putting all of their resources, including finances for retirement, back into the farm.

This makes the thought of actually retiring almost financially impossible.

On today's almanac, extension ag economist Jessica Groskoff covers the difficult topic of farm owner retirement and future owner success.

[Jessica Groskopf, Nebraska Extension Ag Economist]

I do think this financial concern regarding retirement is something that really needs to be addressed as we talk about.

Okay, if I have someone coming back in the business and I need to step back.

What am I going to do in those sunset years?

And frankly, how am I going to afford to live?

We cannot make one generation destitute to bring in another.

And that goes both ways, right?

We can't make the the incoming generation.

Live a difficult life so that the older generation can have a comfortable life.

We have to make sure that they have a comfortable level of living support for both generations or all generations that come and live and work in the farming and ranching business.

And this is a huge challenge as we talk about this transition process is this business has to be able to support multiple family units.

And we have to do that in a way that everybody has a livable wage and a livable standard of living.

Now, does that mean that the farm or the range business has to provide the full standard of living?

Not necessarily, but we do have to know that everyone has the means to have a reasonable lifestyle.

Okay.

The other one that jumps out to me here is we get deeper into the list is that 55% of farmers and ranchers in the survey said that they do not have a successor coming back into the business. 55% do not have someone. Coming back into the business.

So, again, as we think about this process, it's difficult to retire from the business when you don't know who that successor is going to be, who's really going to be the next manager of this business.

I think this is extraordinarily important and part of why Nebraska extension has the Nebraska Landlink program.

The landlink program is a program specifically for farmers and rangers who do not have someone coming back into their business.

What the program does is it matches, um, existing farmers and rangers with new and beginning producers to help them get started.

So, how do we know?

How do we know if we're ready to kind of step back without stepping away?

How do we know that we're ready to slow down a little bit and let someone else come into our business?

And this requires actual planning.

And I like to see you do that planning with a certified financial planner, a CFP, um, or a financial advisor that has agricultural knowledge and an agricultural background.

I'm not going to go through all of the questions.

Um, but these are the kinds of questions that you need to discuss with them and and things you're going to need answers to before you walk into a meeting with a financial advisor.

I think these are the questions that don't get enough attention.

Um, by financial advisors, especially when what they're working with farm and reach families.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

A full series of podcasts on farm succession and transition are available at UNL Center for Ag Profitabilities website.

Just visit cap.unl.edu or download from Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

For Nebraska Extension Almanac.

I'm Brad Mills.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Nebraska Extension Almanac.

Planning your operations future can cause some significant headaches and problems, especially if you're not ready to retire.

On today's almanac, extension agonomist Jessica Groskoff talks about scaling back your involvement in everyday operations.

She begins today's program by encouraging farmers to reevaluate current business documents, and relates that to what needs to be done when retirement is looming.

[Jessica Groskopf, Nebraska Extension Ag Economist]

So if you have an LLC agreement, if you have an entity or a partnership agreement, there's quite a bit of information in there that is going to impact what happens with your farm or your ranch business.

So you might be sitting here today and saying, I've done nothing.

But I happen to have an LLC agreement.

And so I'm going to go through the next 2 steps of planning, which will also, Lead into that because when we have signed legal documents, those legal documents do come into play, even if we haven't thought about them as puzzle pieces that fit together.

So the next segment of planning that we're going to focus on is what we like to call sunset planning.

This used to be titled retirement planning, but Anastasia and I are both fully aware that farmers and rangers rarely actually plan to retire.

So we call it sunset planning because there is that kind of end of your life where you either want to step back from that business or you are forced to step back from that business for medical reasons.

So, Sunset planning is really thinking about what happens when I maybe step back and let someone else step in to more of that that decision making role and maybe my hat shifts from owner operator more to just owner?

So let's let's take a look at sunset planning a little bit more.

So again, we're fully aware that only about 20% of farmers and rangers plan to completely retire from farming or ranching.

We did a survey in 2017 and asked why.

Why don't you want to step back?

And, You know, I think there's some things on here that aren't surprising. 75% said they didn't want to give up control.

We know that the passing of the torch between generations takes a while.

A lot of farmers and rangers who are of a traditional retirement age.

Maybe have only had actual decision making power over their business for a few years because their parents didn't pass on that power to them until just recently.

We know that equipment plays a role in that.

It's, um, Great to have modern equipment that allows folks to farm longer, right?

It's less strenuous on the body. 66% say that if they quit, they would die.

So they relate it to their own mortality, that's what that means.

But I really want to highlight, The one that says 62% cannot afford to retire.

62%.

Of farmers and ranchers say they cannot afford to retire.

Sometimes this is not a control issue.

Sometimes this is a financial issue.

Often, farm and range families have put everything.

And I mean everything back into the business.

So unlike their urban counterparts, right?

We don't have the retirement accounts and the investment accounts that complement the business.

A lot of that was put into the business.

What we see folks doing is liquidating equipment, and then renting out land in order to retire.

So sometimes I think this is slightly an illusion.

That comes from not having like a specific retirement account that exists, but I do think this financial concern regarding retirement is something that really needs to be addressed as we talk about.

Okay, if I have someone coming back in the business and I need to step back.

What am I going to do in those sunset ears?

And frankly, how am I going to afford to live?

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

There is much more to cover on this topic of sunset planning for farmers and ranchers?

Stay tuned to future programs where Jessica talks about retirement planning that makes sense for both the retiring owner and the profitability of the future owner of the farm.

For Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills, Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media, and Nebraska Extension.

For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.