Farm Management and Ag Policy

[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.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Nebraska Extension Almanac.

Transferring your farm operation onto the next generation can be quite tricky, and full of potential long term issues.

Nebraska extension ag economist, Anastasia Meyer says, coming up with a solid plan right now, is the best way forward, and will solidify your wishes, as your farm will be taken care of after you retire or pass away.

[Anastacia Meyer, Nebraska Extension Ag Economist]

Let's talk about succession planning, right?

What does this look like?

What is succession planning?

Well, succession planning is how do you transfer your business onto the next generation, right?

So we break this down into 3 different areas.

We have labor, we have management, and we have ownership.

The owners are typically willing to give up the labor the first.

It's the easiest thing to do, especially if, you know, they're feeling it in their bones and they can't physically do this stuff anymore.

So labor is often the easiest.

But we have to remember that no farmer ranch air or non-air that is coming back to the farm wants to just be a laborer their whole life.

That's usually when we're seeing disagreements among family that they want to start making those decisions.

And so how do I work them into the next tier, the management tier?

This key part, the middle part is the biggest key to success.

How are you training them to manage the farmer ranch before you transfer it?

Start inviting them to the bank meetings, to the insurance meetings.

Start training them on.

How do you make these decisions, right?

Start them all small when maybe we're talking about 10s of 1000s of dollars in decisions, whether it's buying bowls or seed selection.

Before you pass away and now they have ownership.

And they're making 100s of 1000s dollars decisions, right?

So this management is what we really need to focus on in a transition plan and how do we train the next generation to take over management?

It's overwhelming.

When landowners pass on, the heir is inherit and they've had no management experience.

This is often overwhelming and this kind of decides when some people aren't going to sell their ground because they can't manage it.

So, that, before we go into ownership, let's focus on the management aspect.

So like I said, invite them.

Invite those to them to those meetings.

Answer those questions of, well, why did you do this?

Why did we do this?

It's really simple to say, well, that's just because, like, that's just the way it is, right?

We don't want to always explain ourselves.

But if we're passing on a farmer ranch, we have to be able to say why we are making these decisions and how they affect the farmer ranch operation overall.

Again, we talked about death, disability, divorce, bankruptcy, but, you know, those could happen tomorrow, they could happen 10, 20 years from now.

So let's set, let's start these management processing and training now in case something does happen.

And then also tell them what structures or agreements do we have in place?

So if they're coming back, you need to have a position description for them.

But what is your operation agreements look like?

Are you in an LLC entity agreements?

What, where are your leases at?

What do your leases say?

Are there any buy sale trade agreements?

It is amazing when you work through it, through families, farms, or ranches when, you know, they thought that they owned the ground that was around them, but maybe they just owned the house and that the LLC or something else on the ground that the house sat on.

So those small nuances of farms in every farm has those nuances.

Make sure that you're training the next generation to take them over.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Today's program was a portion taken from a recent farmcast podcast offered by UNL Center for Ag Profitability.

To hear the entire program, as well as a five-part series on transition and succession, 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 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.

Before a farming operation can move on to the next generation, families have to answer some difficult but necessary questions.

On today's program, extension agaconomist Anastasia Meyer talks about farm families, business operations, transition plans, and how clear communication can help avoid any unnecessary problems in the future.

[Anastasia Meyer, Nebraska Extension Ag Economist]

First thing that we need to think about is the business planning, right?

We said that this was the 1st step.

And really, the biggest question that we need to ask ourselves for business planning is the hard question of is this viable.

Is this farmer ranch viable to succeed onto the next generation, if it is bleeding money right now and cannot cash flow?

Should you be looking at different avenues or if you're just getting by?

Can you bring in another family unit to support on the farmer ranch alone?

What does that look like for you?

This is a hard question to ask in a lot of times, we don't share our financials with the other generations.

And so we have to be willing to talk about this.

If somebody is returning to the farmer ranch, we have to be willing to talk about how are we paying them?

We should have some documentation, what does that look like?

How much are they getting paid?

What are those benefits that they might be getting?

And what exactly are they responsible for?

And then really, what's the future for the operation?

Is there room for expansion?

Are you in an area that is super ultra competitive and is not really room to grow?

Or is that available there?

Can they branch out into different niche markets?

And then also, what is the debt associated with the business?

When I talk to different people, especially heirs, they don't ever think about the debt and they don't know about the debt that a farmer ranch might have.

But remember, you are passing on assets and debt when you're going to have a transition plan.

So it's something that we need to think about when we're having this plan.

And then we need to be thinking about family business meetings.

You can't have a good family business without trust.

So you have to build your trust and you have to practice a good communication to maintain the trust or build the trust.

When you're having these family business meetings on.

What does this transition plan look like?

You really need to decide of who are you inviting to this meeting.

Really, it's a golden rules, right?

Whoever own is the owner of the farmer ranch gets to make the rules and invite who they want.

My rule of thumb is invite everybody.

Invite the on farm air.

Invite the off foreign heirs.

Invite the in-laws, the outlaws, invite the children or grandchildren.

If they have a stake in that farmer ranch, invite them.

A lot of times we're asked, do we invite the in-laws?

I think that the in-laws can offer a unique perspective, right?

Because if I'm thinking about this 80 here, I might have one recollection where my spouse might have another, right?

Is there emotional attachment tied there or are you thinking in a different mindset?

I think that if, if they are signing loan documents, they need to be at the table, though.

Who gets to speak during these meetings?

I think, you know, you need to set this meetings up with, Are you gathering ideas or just making decisions?

Who gets to speak?

Well, that's up to you as well, right?

But, Who also is making the decision?

Is that the owners are you going to let everybody have a vote?

I think this is probably going to come down to how is your ground currently owned?

Do you have LLCs?

Do you have trust?

What does that look like?

Are you allowing people to vote?

And is it majority or unanimous?

Do only siblings, heirs, get voting privileges, have these discussions before you start these family business meetings.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Today's program was part 2 of UNL Center for Ag Profitabilities podcast series on Farm Transitions.

You can hear this program in its entirety and the entire series by going to CAP.

UNL.edu 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.

Part of every farm's operation mission is to conserve their land for future generations and the continued success of their agricultural business.

Also part of that mission is wildlife conservation strategies.

Extension specialist Andy Little runs the applied wildlife ecology and spatial movement lab, or awesome lab, which focuses on helping landowners conserve wildlife habitat that can greatly benefit their agricultural operation.

He talks about why that is so integral to a farm success.

[Andy Little, Nebraska Extension Specialist]

Historically, you know, what we would see, you know, we kind of go back in like the 50s and 60s, when I talk to landowners around Nebraska, they remember, hey, I could go back in the back 40, my property and hunt quail, pheasants, a lot of other game, and now I'm not seeing those game species like I used to, or non-game.

So, uh, meadowlarks, other grass and birds, like dickcissel that are seen declines.

Um, and basically what landowners are saying is, hey, are there ways that we can kind of get back to some of those times where I had more wildlife in my land out in my farm, my operation.

And that's where prairie strips and many other conservation practices out there can help with that so that you can basically balance production and also have those areas where you can have wildlife species.

But also not only, you know, improving wildlife populations is also addressing soil, erosion issues, the water quality and quantity issues.

So if you have areas where your field, where maybe you're lower yielding, they can be targeted for some conservation practices to help benefit your whole operation.

One of the things that we're working in the awesome lab on is the idea of stackable enterprises.

So you kind of think of like your financial portfolio, you usually don't put all your money in one or 2 stocks.

You actually have diversified funding streams.

And so conservation can be one of those funding streams, but really, the sky's the limit on people's creativity.

So we're starting and looking at some additional stackable enterprises at the moment.

One of those is, you know, grazing.

Just a simple thing.

You can have a row crop system where you're managing, but you're bringing grazing that cattle component into your operation.

But also looking at it from maybe a managed access or basically open fields and waters program.

I know Game of Parks has right now in Nebraska, where you can basically get paid to put your land in to basically access for people to come and recreate there.

And so the point is, is being able to take and target areas of your operation where maybe you're just not making the most amount of money off of that operation that you hope.

And so can we actually take and strategically target that?

Basically, every acre has a role, whether that's production or conservation in the land, and so that helps you optimize your overall profitability beyond maybe what you've had seen in the past.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

The growing human population is obviously a great concern for the ag industry, helping feed people is obviously the number one concern of agriculture.

Andy talks about how his lab and research efforts are supporting that issue.

[Andy Little, Nebraska Extension Specialist]

I'm looking at it as, hey, instead of kind of just focusing on a smaller issue, let's take him, let's try to address this big challenge of how can we creatively address the lack of habitat, but doing it in a way that's sustainable for our farmers and ranchers.

Ultimately, that's going to come down to kind of two really key pathways.

One is addressing risks.

So obviously, if I'm losing money on my operation by putting a certain practice or whatever that really is, I can't be losing money.

And so, ultimately, if we, from the stackable enterprise side, find ways to optimize those revenues so you can actually make more money on your operation, now you're diversifying your financial portfolio, diversifying your operation.

And it doesn't have to be extreme.

It can be small areas where you can just target and test out.

And then, two, is being able to create those kind of pathways, and that's where our lab is also working in that arena, being able to have some simple stackable enterprises on your operation.

And then let's walk through a couple of case examples, so we can actually have the tools and the programs that help you be successful adopting them on your 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.

UNL Center for Ag Profitability’s Farmcast podcast is producing a five-part series on Farm Secession, and the planning that needs to go into that.

On today's program, Nebraska extension ag economist Anastasia Meyer talks about where to get started.

She says it might seem to be a daunting task at first.

But necessary.

[Anastacia Meyer, Nebraska Extension Ag Economist]

You'll hear us say transition plans.

You'll often hear the word succession plan being thrown about too in other circles.

And we like to use the word transition plan because we think a transition plan is really the ideal thing.

It's a gradual and carefully thought-out plan and how to shift your farmer ranch to the next generation or the new owners if they're not related.

It's going to include the timelines of when does when is this going to happen?

What exactly is going to happen?

What are those milestones that you are looking for?

It's not a one day process.

This is probably going to take a minimum of 3 to 5 years.

So we need to be thinking about this long term and be able to adjust this.

This is a never ending process.

Most importantly, are those written agreements?

It's not real unless it's in writing and that's really because a lot of families have good intentions, but without those written agreements.

It's just empty promises.

And we always just think about death for succession plan, but really, we need to be thinking about disability, divorce, bankruptcies, disagreements in the family.

Do you want to retire?

We can adjust our transition plan when the good things in life happens too.

By starting this, theoretically or hopefully we can get that plan started that we can make those minor adjustments and we can see how the cash flow demands are and how we incorporate somebody else into the operation.

So, it's often a balancing act, right?

We have the owners.

You'll hear us say the golden rule of estate planning is whoever owns the gold gets to make the rules, and these are their concerns, right?

They don't want to be pushed out.

You have spent your life building up or maintaining this farmer ranch.

You like to be in control.

You don't want to be pushed out.

They don't want to talk about death or disability.

Thinking about your own demise is really hard and that's why, you know, this is a big fear for everybody.

The owners are afraid that the operation won't fail.

They might not be financially stable enough to retire and you'll hear us talk about a lot in different presentations, asset rich and cash for.

They might not simply have the cash to retire or step back and start this transition plan and they want the kids to get along.

The heirs who are returning to the operation, they don't want to just be the laborer.

They want a clear plan with outlines and deadlines and what exactly does that look for them?

They want to minimize their risk.

They want financial independence and they don't want to be at the mercy of their other siblings, whether they are on the farm or off the farm.

They want to have some steak in this transition plan and operation.

So, 1st thing that we need to do and getting started is recognize who is on your team.

Have, do you have anybody that is working with you on this transition plan?

Do you have a lawyer yet?

There are many lawyers who work with estate planning?

I personally recommend somebody that you find who focuses on agricultural estate planning because your farm is a lifestyle in a business and, you know, that's something that if you're not really familiar with, it's hard to understand.

Do you have a tax professional, do you have a banker, a financial planner?

Do you need to look at a foreign manager?

All of these different people can be on your team to have a really good transition plan.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Stay tuned to future programs where Anastasia talks about the importance of family communication during this process.

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.

Livestock risk protection insurance is a widely used risk management tool for cattle producers.

Extension specialist Jay Parsons says, recent enhancements to LRP programs have made it more affordable and accessible.

Jay talks about one specific policy that has made a significant impact on a producer's bottom line.

[Jay Parsons, Nebraska Extension Specialist]

It was basically a 13 week policy taken out in early August, and then the end date would be the 1st week in November, and it was for feeder cattle, and I'd looked at, I actually have it also for fed cattle.

But anyway, feeder cattle, weight one, weight 2 for steers in general.

And like I said, now it's up 21 years worth of tracking on that.

So you can start to see some patterns where it paid producers when prices dropped and then, of course, when prices were above expectations, it didn't pay.

But basically half the time.

Um, they're out of the 21 years, I think 10 years or an 11 was a split and basically where it paid or didn't pay.

But the big thing is, is that there's, you know, on the upside, you're basically, if the prices go up, you're really just out the or the premium payment, right?

There's no extra to pay there, but if prices go down, it's going to pay you anything below your actual coverage price.

So it's period like in 2006 to 2009-ish, I believe, where there's where producers were paid indemnities with that particular policy if they'd had that. 15 and 16 coming out of the drought years when prices cattle prices move the other direction.

And then not too long ago here, just in 2020, I think, through 23 where it paid.

So you start to see these kind of patterns in there, and it's not to encourage people to try to outguess randomness because it's a problem in and of itself.

But to see that if you stick with that as a protection tool.

There's times it's going to pay and it's going to, you know, protect you and the prices move down.

Prices move up, you're out the premium, but overall, it's a good risk management tool.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Jay says this type of risk management tool.

Might be especially effective when coming out of drought years.

[Jay Parsons, Nebraska Extension Specialist]

Yeah, well, that's interesting because it's been characterizes a slow rebuild or maybe a delayed rebuild, you know, with the stuff.

We actually had quite a few years of dry weather.

It wasn't like 2012 where it was really just 12 months.

The last part of 2012 and 2013.

You know, we had dry weather and, you know, cattle inventories went down and then they fairly quickly rebuilt from there.

We're just kind of wondering when all that's going to happen.

And the main thing is, is you can't predict it exactly.

If we could, we'd all we'd all be rich.

Um, but, uh, at some point, we're going to see these cattle prices come back down a little bit.

We're going to see inventories go up and prices come back down.

And that's when you need the protection or that's when you're going to be, you know, wanting to have the protection.

You just can't predict when it is.

So it just becomes kind of a business practices of, you know, what do I want to protect here?

You know, in case that does happen.

Do I need the protection or not at what level?

Well, the main thing is, is that nobody wants to collect on insurance in general, right?

I mean, when you buy insurance on your house, It's not like you want a hailstorm or a fire to happen, so you can collect on it.

Same thing here.

As a producer, you don't want the prices to drop in general.

You want them to stay strong and you want to get a good price in the marketplace.

So the expectation part is built into actually what the insurance is tied to, right?

So the insurance is tied to current expectations.

You don't want those expectations to be wrong.

I mean, you don't expect them to be wrong, I guess, is the point.

You just buying the protection in case they are wrong.

So, uh, so the mindset, I always tell people is you, you know, you with any insurance product, right?

You basically weigh the trade-offs.

You know, what's the premium cost me?

Protection, I get from that, is that the protection I need?

And so on.

And you hope that air conditions are fantastic and you don't have to, you know, collect an indemnity to actually compensate you for some loss for things not being well.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Today's program was taken from a recent farmcast podcast offered by UNL Center for Ag Profitability.

To read the detailed article, or hear the complete interview, go to cap.unl.edu, or download the program from Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, for Nebraska Extension Almanac.

I'm Brad Mills.

Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of INR 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.

For many farm families, bringing children, or even grandchildren into the operation, is the ultimate goal.

Nebraska extension agoconomist Jessica Groskoff talks about one strategy that might make sense when it comes to turning over an operation to family members.

[Jessica Groskopf, Nebraska Extension Ag Economist]
So this is a really interesting strategy, but the most important thing is that you have to have an entity structure that allows for the transfer of shares or changes in the percentage of ownership.

So we're looking at farms and ranches that are set up as partnerships, LLCs or corporations.

And this is really a cool tool because you can use basically that entity as a gift to the lower generation.

So as an older generation, which we're going to call the donor, I can gift that to my heirs, which we call the donor.

So it's a really interesting plan.

If I have the right entity structure in place.

And honestly, it is actually fairly easy, but I do need to emphasize this is not something you just decide to do.

You do need a team of professionals behind you, and at the top of that list is a very talented attorney and a very knowledgeable tax professional who can help you know and understand what you need to be able to to implement this strategy.

So this is a really interesting strategy because to some extent it provides not just ownership, but potentially management decisions and income to that younger generation, in a, in a gradual ways, and giving them that opportunity to learn the ropes while I'm still alive.

It also creates that shift of income between the owner and the heir as well, right?

So, as that owner gets a little bit older, maybe they have some other assets that they can tap into and really allows that younger generation to grow, that farmer, that ranch business gradually over time.

So 1st of all, if you're going to tackle or think about this type of transfer, you need to work with your financial team.

You need to determine the liabilities associated with that business, the asset basis and then the value of those shares or that percentage of the business.

We can use 2 exclusions as we work through this.

That's the annual gift tax exclusion and the lifetime gifting exclusion to make this transfer.

So as we think about, Both sides.

Um, during life, there's there's a few things we need to consider.

First is the management of that business.

So how much of that management is being transferred with those shares, and that comes down to that decision making.

If that donor, that older generation still wants control or more control, we need to make sure that this isn't a large transfer all at once, because that might also be transferring that decision making power.

So we need to think about, really, is this a small progressive gift?

We're gifting a little bit each year, maybe a percent, or half a percent every year, or is it that large shift?

And that depends on the farm of the ranch business.

Along with that is the consideration of the transfer of income.

So as that ownership, Percent, and its changes or that that ownership of shares change, that's going to ripple through the business.

So we really need to make sure that both, The owners and the heirs maintain a viable standard of living.

It's very, very important as we work through the transition process that both parties still have that viable standard of living.

And so, We have to think about, is that transfer of shares or ownership also transferring that income, and where is that comfortable mix?

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Today's program was a portion taken from a recent Farmcast podcast offered by UNL Center for Ag Profitability.

To hear the entire interview, go to cap.unl.edu or download from Apple Podcasts.

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.

Ag producers face a very challenging decision making environment full of risk and uncertainty.

Complex solutions take time and research to keep the operation successful.

Extension specialist, Jay Parsons, talks about a decision tree or decision flow process designed to help operators make good decisions using this valuable tool.

[Jay Parsons, Nebraska Extension Specialist]
I mean, it gets its name, obviously, because it looks like a tree where you have different nodes of decisions or uncertainties and then outcomes from each of those.

So it branches out and gets get fairly complex, fairly fast, depending upon how many different types of outcomes there are from the uncertainties and how many different choices you're considering.

Um, the way it differs from a lot of the other ways that we do or look at decision making in an ag is it forces you to think of the sequence of events, of how things happen, um, and how information is revealed.

So, in that regard, it's a really useful tool.

So rather than just sitting there at a point in time and thinking of all of the things.

You kind of think of the sequence in which they happen and just kind of big buckets and directions things can go.

I looked at a corn producer's marketing decision, and, you know, to begin with, I mapped out that, you know, prior to that, there's planting decisions, planting conditions that would contribute to that, and so on.

But the example I gave was really kind of disappointed time, you know, Midsummer, you're looking at marketing decisions, you still don't know exactly how your crop is going to turn out.

You don't know how markets are going to turn out in the fall.

So I just mapped it out as kind of a simple thing where you're trying to decide whether to forward price half your crop or not, and you know what the current contract price is that's being offered by the local elevator for the fall.

And you still need to determine what your actual yields are going to be and you need to determine what how prices are going to turn out.

So I just did a simple thing where yields could go up or down 10%, so 3 different outcomes here or turn out normal.

And then same thing on the prices that they could go up or down 10% or turn out normal.

So you map all that out and you get like 9 different outcomes for each decision, whether you leave it cash open or for price half of it, given the current price that's offered to you.

From there, you just got a bunch of numbers that you can calculate, expected values and do different things that look at different outcomes that could possibly turn out.

Well, the challenges are definitely the complexity, because even the example I put in there, even though it's very simple, and not nowhere near capturing everything that could possibly happen for a producer, because reality is you got a spectrum of yields.

You got a spectrum of prices.

So the complexity is there.

Uh, you know, no matter what decision it is, it gets complex really fast.

So that's a challenge, but the thing that's a real advantage is it forces you to think through, just, like I said, kind of big buckets, you know, going up, going down.

You know that there's probably a spectrum in between there.

And once you have that template built of the things that can happen, you can reuse it.

So, you know, the, the, uh, decision I describe would be like you're in the midsummer, but another 2 months from now, you know, a little bit more about the market conditions that could happen in the fall, you know, a little bit more about your production conditions, which your yields might be, and you have that template there.

If you're making another marketing decision at that point, let's just say you're looking at maybe forward pricing a quarter of your crop at that point.

You can just, you know, repopulate that same tree with the new numbers and take another look at the decision that you're considering.

Expected value, you know, mathematically is just a weighted average of what could happen to you.

And it's not so much that, you know, you're going to make a big deal about, say, a $100 difference or something like that.

It's it's what you're looking for, there are some bigger differences where you definitely prefer one or the other.

And then sometimes when the expected values are close.

You might look at the distribution of the possibility, say the best case, worst case scenario and kind of how those are distributed.

And in that regard, pick one of the choices as being much preferred to the other choice.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Today's program was a portion taken from a recent farmcast podcast offered by UNL Center for Ag Profitability.

There are many more key details from this interview, which can be heard in its entirety by going to cap.unl.edu or downloading from Apple Podcasts.

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.

The University of Nebraska Center for Ag Profitabilities, offering education, and practical applications to help landowners and land seekers protect the future of their operations, as well as helping aspiring farmers, find ways to start their ad careers.

Extension educator emeritus, Alan Vyhnalek says, current landowners can protect their legacy by using this valuable tool.

[Allan Vyhnalek, Nebraska Extension Educator Emeritus]
And so, you know, we're really we're really taking care of a couple of problems.

One problem is there's some land seekers that don't have access to land.

The other problem is, in many cases, many of your cases as landowners, you have land and you have nowhere to give to get to land you because if you have children, your children are no longer interested.

The point is, before you put your land on the land link makes me make sure if you have children, that you check with them one last time.

Is there any chance that you're interested in coming back to the farm?

We'd love to have you or ranch?

We love to have you.

If there's not, then fine. Lets just go on.

So you can apply for the land link and here's some tips so you can do that application very efficiently and well.

So before applying, just know that you're going to be asked a bunch of personal questions, but you're also going to be asked, how many acres do you have?

What's the breakdown of those acres by crop?

Once you break down to the acres by pasture and crop ground.

How what livestock do you have?

What's the breakdown in your livestock?

Your machinery inventory, that's going to take a little time.

You're just entering the tractors and the cultivators and the planters and the combines and trucks and that's going to take a bunch of time to get that entered in because that'll all need to be entered.

And then they're also going to want to know about what buildings you have, what your building inventory looks like and what can be done with it in terms of future use for this other operator that might be coming to your operation.

And the other question you'd be thinking about before you apply is, would you be willing to rent out a smaller number of acres separately for some other scale of production, especially if you live closer to one of the major towns in Nebraska, you may want to consider renting out 5, 10, 15, 30, 80 up to 80 acres for a small operator to do like a truck vegetable operation for farm to market thing.

Don't expect quick results.

I don't know what the processing time will be yet, but it's going to take me some time to sort through applications as they start coming in and interviewing people, setting up interviews, interviewing people as you'd be coming in.

We'll do a preliminary interview based on the application received.

You can't flunt the interview, that won't happen.

I'm trying to get a field for the landowners.

I want to know what you're most proud of.

I would like I would like to know if you really want to keep this operation in business or not, if you want just want the operation to go away.

I would like to know how you'd like to transition operation in the future.

What do you have for children if you have children and what's your obligation to those children?

Do you have any obligation to children?

What do your children expect?

What are you willing to give?

I mean, those kind of things have to be kind of thought about as you enter into this thing.

And what is your commitment to the land seeker?

Do you really want to keep this operation going?

So let's let's think about that and have that conversation before you even think about applying.

Let's think about that, have that conversation when I interview you too.

I'll be doing we'll be doing both.

Just kind of be thinking a little bit about what is your future use of the ground going to be, what do you want to have happen to that operation?

Um, I expect that you're going to have 20 to 30 land seekers apply for every landowner to you will get.

Like I said, in a previous slide, you're going to have some period of time between the listing date and the date you receive potential land seekers.

Your information from your land is only coming to my office and me only.

I'm not sharing now with the land seekers.

But I will be sharing their applications with you as the landowner, and I expect 2345.

I don't know.

I have to see how many qualify, how many people get applications done to me that are complete.

And I'll be interviewing them too, so I want to know what did they think?

I want to try and set up a good match as I can, especially after I maybe want to try and interview you first.

And also know that we'll be having land seekers that are looking for land in specific corners of the state or specific parts of the state.

And if your land is not there, then you may not have seekers right away, although I'm, I'm anticipating it, a lot of, a lot of land seekers say, hey, we'll go anywhere.

So then I can use them to look at your operation and that sort of thing.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Today's program was a portion 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.

A growing source of income for landowners in Nebraska's hunting rights.

Extension ag economist Jim Jansen talks about how ag landowners can enhance their profitability by leasing exclusive rights for hunters and certain types of game on their land.

[Jim Jansen, Nebraska Extension Ag Economist]
So each year, the University of Nebraska is part of the annual farm real estate survey takes a look at what we call a newer emerging issue present in the farm real estate industry, farming and ranching real estate industry.

In prior years, we've looked at things like the type of leases, so provisions related to crop shares, provisions related to flexible cash leases.

And given that some of the farm and ranches are a little bit tighter financially this year, we thought we would take maybe a look at what are some alternative ways to generate revenue or funds from our property.

And this can go for absentee landowners as well.

Well, one of the things that we can do in our state, which we obviously have a very rural-based state that has a lot of wildlife present, is renting out the hunting rights associated with a parcel of ground.

So, you might own the land, you might farm it, you might rent it to someone else, that farms, that ranches it.

The key thing is, though, you reserve the right, and you are renting that right to a 3rd party to hunt different types of wild game.

So we might be talking about things like antelope or deer, waterfowl, some of the other things included pheasants, turkey, and then we group the rest as other game.

Overall, based on the survey responses that were sent in, the majority of people that reported on the survey found about almost 50% are renting out some type of rights related to either antelope or deer hunting.

The 2nd one that followed that was waterfowl, and that quite 20%, and then the 3rd one was deer.

Now, within each of the different regions of the state that we call agricultural statistic districts, we did see some variation.

For example, the highest rate of interest for wider fowl hunting, so things like duck or de geese, things like that.

We've seen that even in the northwest.

And also some of the parts of the East Platte Valley.

So I think like the east and central district.

Some of the hot spots that we've seen for hunting were deer were primarily in the north to northeast.

And some of the geographical features or factors or forces are what why we see the type of wildlife we do and why people are willing to pay.

So what are the features or forces or contributing value to hunting, wasting out hunting wildlife.

Some of the leading factors we've seen were including the vegetative cover and proximity to water.

So that accounted for over half of the reasons on why people would want to.

Why do I want to release your ground while it's next to the Platte River, or it has certain factors or features, maybe the presence brush or trees, hillside?

Think of what features or forces would make a site to be ideal.

Well, those sites or features are conducive to siting up into your blind, for example.

So we took a look at what, can someone charge someone else?

What can you lease out the hunting rights for our property?

And the detail that we looked at, we just looked at, we grouped responses by a financial range.

We found that about not quite two thirds of the responses.

We had people reporting a value between 0 to not quite $2,500.

And then a little less than 30% of responses, we had a range somewhere between, say, 2500 to not about 5000.

What this means is we typically see someone charge a sum of money, you gain access to the use of that property, a lot of the responses were indicating it was usually for the season.

You weren't renting out policing the hunting rights just, say, for, you know, hunting deer on the 1st day of the deer season.

It's hunting deer for the duration of the season for deer or whatever wild game someone might be hunting.

But this was part of the special feature survey that the University of Nebraska conducts in tandem with the Nebraska Farm Real Estate survey.

If you'd like to find some additional information, you can always take a look at the farm real estate report that was issued in late June of 2025.

The website is capped, type UNL.edu slash real estate.

[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.

Current extreme drought conditions in Western Nebraska, and recent wildfires can force some producers to make immediate livestock decisions.

Those decisions are obviously based on years of experience, the present weather condition, and current market situations, and they do carry tax issues as well.

On today's program, Tina Barrett from Nebraska Farm Business Inc. Discusses some tax issues.

Ranchers should consider when making important decisions based off of weather related crisis situations.

[Tina Barrett, Farm Business Inc. Director]

So starting with the livestock deferral rules.

We have 2 different rules.

So the 1st one comes from code section 451.

So that's our, that gives us a one year deferral of livestock, and then the other one comes from the involuntary conversion rules in in 1033.

Let's start with the one-year deferral.

This one allows us to take the excess income from the sale of livestock due to weather conditions and we can defer that to the next year.

So this can be any kind of lifestock.

Doesn't matter what, what, and kind of animal that was, if we sold more than we normally would have due to a, uh, weather condition.

Then we can use this as long as we qualify.

This one has a few more rules for qualification than the 2 year rule.

This one you have to be a cash basis taxpayer, which makes sense because as an accrual basis taxpayer, you would have an inventory adjustment for it and you wouldn't need to defer it.

Your principal business has to be farming.

So in the definition of this one, it means like 50% of your income needs to come from farming.

So it's a little different definition than being a qualified farmer.

And then the area has to be eligible for federal assistance.

And so presidential disaster declaration.

Uh, that comes through FEMA is a slam duck, no question.

You know, federal assistance, I think, can be a little bit broader than that too, if we're getting assistance through FSA, due to drought conditions or those kinds of things.

I think we can we can qualify for this deferral in that case too.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Tina explains what normal business practice is and what would be considered excessive sales that was needed during these weather events.

[Tina Barrett, Nebraska Farm Biz Director]

As we talk about those requirements.

It's got to be the sales, again, that exceed your normal business practice.

So, typically we think about that as a three-year average of the number of head.

So I've got an example here, we'll walk through, but so we look at the number of head that you sold for the past 3 years, and then compare that to the number of head you sold this year.

And the excess that we would have would be what we could defer.

So it's not quite like we can just say, I had a calf crop.

I normally sell my calf crop in January, and this year I sold them in October, so I have 2 calf checks and I'm going to take the October check and defer it to next year.

Can't do it that way.

We have to look at the numbers.

And so, uh, but again, we'll look at some examples here and make that hopefully make a little bit more sense.

Um, again, only the the income from those excess sales is deferred.

So we can't, you know, kind of pick and choose what kind of number we want to have there.

And again, it's only deferred to next year.

And so not, we can't go, you know, 2 years out on this one.

It's just the next tax year.

When we have breeding livestock that is purchased, it makes it a little bit more complicated because we do need to take into account. You know, some of the other, uh, the basis issues.

But for the most part, here we'd be able to get on the one year deferral, just defer that, excess income to the next year, and then calculate that gain as we move on.

I mentioned a couple things that we could look at proof of weather conditions.

Again, like I said, that presidential disaster declaration is going to be a guarantee all the time.

Now that doesn't have to come before the sale.

So if sometime in 26, uh, we would get a disaster declaration in your county, or in your area, then then that way we could still use that as proof for why we deferred that on the tax return.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Stay tuned for future programs where Tina explains much more details about forced livestock sales due to unfortunate weather conditions and the tax implications that come with it.

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.

New federal regulations are giving farmers an opportunity to add farmland to program payments by recalculating their base acres.

Part one of this discussion, extension educator Anastasia Meyer talked about why these changes are a great opportunity for farmers who might qualify for the recalculation.

On today's program, she begins by explaining what producers need to do, if they don't have any existing base acres on their operation, which might rely on a county average.

[Anastasia Meyer, Nebraska Extension Educator]

Well, it depends, right?

That's a big question.

Are you an average producer?

That is probably about the same as a county yield.

Are you an amazing producer?

Because then that's going to hurt you if the county averages is actually lower than yours.

Or if you are a subpar, you know, it's great.

But really, let's let's remember that the yield is only going to be important, if you were enrolled in price loss coverage and PLC.

And then this whole yield thing is a little bit interesting, right?

Because I mentioned the fact that in 2014, we had the chance to reallocate our base acres.

So if you reallocated, and if you are base right now, it's currently what you plant.

You're just probably going to see that yield swept into that new base acre.

So if you plant a corn and soybean rotation and that's what your base acres are, there's probably not any concern for you.

But let's again, talking to my area, we saw a lot of producers here keep their grain sorghum and wheat base acres, because at that time, remember, we were signing up for a 5 year farm bill.

And at that time they, those were paying pretty good.

So they decided to keep it.

Now, if you're adding new base based off of what you've been planting the last 5 years.

You're probably going to be seeing corn and soybean base acres added on to your farm that you already have wheat and grain sorghum.

So what yields do you use if you don't have any of that already associated to that farm number?

These are when you're going to see those county average yield.

So I don't know if it's going to truly affect a lot of people.

Um, but I do know that they're, that it is going to affect some that maybe chose to keep their old base and not reallocate to the new base.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Anastasia explains that old base numbers aren't in play here.

She talks about how the new provisions are for new base acres only.

[Anastasia Meyer, Nebraska Extension Wizard]

Yeah, so remember, this is only adding new base.

We cannot touch any of our old base.

We cannot reallocate it to what we currently plant.

We cannot increase our yield.

Um, we can't do any of that.

And remember, this is what they are basing the Art County and the price loss coverage payments on, right?

What's your bases enrolled on, not what you're currently planting?

So, again, yield is only going to matter for those price loss coverage base acres that are enrolled in it.

And it's only our county is going to be using the county average yield.

And so the really yield's not going to affect that at all.

It's just kind of what's on paper at FSA.

Um, so I wouldn't get too concerned about it.

Um, I've kind of been telling people there isn't anything to it, but to do it, right?

I don't see why you would opt out of it, especially when we don't know what future legistration is going to base any farm payments on, right?

Right, now we've been seeing a lot of these ad hoc, um, payments, so the e-cap, and a lot of payments that are based off of what you truly plant, not what your base acres are in.

So if we go more towards that in the future, this means nothing.

But if we stick with this whole method of giving payment based off of what your base acres are, this is when we really want to increase them while we can, because we might have the chance to reallocate again in the future or update yields again in the future.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Today's program was based on an article and the Farmcast podcast produced by UNL Center for Ag Profitability.

To read the article, or to listen to the entire interview, go to CAP.UNL.edu, or download from Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

For Nebraska Extension Almanac.

I am 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.

Federal commodity payment programs are based on what's known as base acres.

That base acre number for farmers has not changed in years, or even decades, but new federal farm regulations have given farmers a chance to add new base acres, extension educator, Anastasia Meyer explains, what's changed, and who might qualify.

[Anastasia Meyer, Nebraska Extension Educator]

The fact that we have not been able to add any base acres on ground that is farmed since the 1980s, right?

So we have been stuck with the same amount of base acres as what was happening back then.

Um, And the simple fact of it comes down to a lot of these barn program payments are based off of what you have base acres in, not what you're planting, but what how many base acres you have and what it is enrolled in.

So this is what's exciting about this one big beautiful Bill Act. And landowners are starting to see these postcards come in the mail from the farm service agency saying, hey, you can now review it starting June one.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

Anastasia discusses how base acres are established and the difference between that and actual crop acres.

[Anastasia Meyer, Nebraska Extension Educator]

Base acres were established in the 1985 farm build.

So if the producer who was farming it signed up for the 1985 farm bill, congratulations, you got base acres.

So if you're farming a piece of ground that maybe was not enrolled in or it was pasture and now you actually farm it, you don't have any base acres on that field because it was not signed up for in the 1985 farm bill.

And in the 1985 farm bill.

What you planted is what those base acres were established in.

And then in 2014, we had the chance to do some reallocation of bake acres, which means that we were able to say that in my area that we farm in.

We had a lot of base acres in corn, and sorry, in wheat in Milo, grain sorghum, and not in corn and soybeans, because that's what they planted back in 1985.

So you were able to reallocate if you wanted to or not.

We were able to update yields.

Most people did update yields.

And then in 2018, we had a chance to update yields again.

Not a lot of people could, though.

So this is why this change is so exciting for people who are now farming a lot more acres and what they currently have base acres in.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

The new legislation comes with a few math problems that farmers will need to figure out in order to qualify for more base acres.

Anastasia says it's a pretty simple process to calculate.

[Anastasia Meyer, Nebraska Extension Educator]

So the really great thing about this is there's not a lot of calculations are really anything to do for producers or landowners to look at.

Essentially, what they're going to look at is that what you planted or what your producer planted from 2019 to 2023.

And they're going to compare it to your 2024 base acres.

If you have more acres planted or prevent plant certified at the FSA, then what you currently have base acres in, you're gonna be able to increase them.

Um, it's a simple form.

A lot of the postcards that are getting sent out at is just an, for your information, right?

You can opt out of adding base anchors.

But I don't know why any landowner or producer truly would.

So yes, it's going to look at 2019 to 23.

They're going to see.

Are you eligible or not?

Um, and then we get into a little bit more of the, nitty gritty details, right?

There is a cap.

So we're not going to see a one to one addition most likely.

So by saying that, if I farm 100 acres, I plant 100 acres and I only have 40 base acres.

I'm probably not going to be able to get up to 100.

But I'm probably going to be able to get some more.

I don't know the certain percentage yet.

I don't even think FSA knows that yet.

[Brad Mills, Program Host]

There is much more to this discussion to come on a future extension almanac program 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.