University of Maine Cooperative Extension
images of farming activities

Piscataquis & Penobscot
Farming Newsletter
 

Volume 8 Number 12December 2010
In This Issue
Change in Office Hours
Ten Things About Farm Income Taxes
Results of Fall Beef Survey
Trade Adjustment Assistance for Wild Blueberry Farmers
2010 Piscataquis County Extension Highlights Report
AgrAbility
Items of Interest
Featured Extension Publications
Goal  
The
goal of the Piscataquis & Penobscot Farming Newsletter is to provide timely information on the production and marketing of crops and livestock grown in central Maine.  Upcoming events and programs of interest will also be included.
Please take a moment to complete our survey.
Thanks.
Mission
University of Maine Cooperative Extension is the major educational outreach program of the University of Maine, with offices statewide.  UMaine Extension provides Maine people with research-based educational programs to help them live fuller, more productive lives.
Local Weather Anytime
Many farming activities are driven by the weather. Our local National Weather Service in Caribou has meteorologists on staff 24 hours a day. They are willing to talk with you about rain predictions for your town. Give them a call at 492-0180. Or check out their online detailed maps at www.weather.org/ caribou.
Quick Links
Underlined
Please note that underlined words and phrases link to webpages with more information.  If you are unable to access these pages contact your local Extension Office for assistance.

Change in Office Hours for Piscataquis Extension Office


Effective January 2011, due to county budget reductions, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension's Piscataquis County office will be closed to the public on Tuesdays. Our office staff will be conducting educational programs without secretarial coverage.
 
Please leave a message at 564-3301 or 1-800-287-1491 and we will return your call the next day. You can drop off non-perisable samples and a note with your contact information in our drop box by the door and we will retrieve them the next day.
If you need immediate assistance you can contact the state office 1-800-287-0274.

 

Ten Things You May Not Know about Farm Income and Deductions

IRS Tax Tip 2010-56

If you are in the business of farming, there are a number of tax issues that you should consider before filing your federal tax return. The IRS has compiled a list of 10 things that farmers may want to know before filing their federal tax return.

  1. Crop Insurance Proceeds: You must include in income any crop insurance proceeds you receive as the result of crop damage. You generally include them in the year you receive them.
  2. Sales Caused by Weather-Related Condition: If you sell more livestock, including poultry, than you normally would in a year because of weather-related conditions, you may be able to choose to postpone reporting the gain from selling the additional animals due to the weather until the next year.
  3. Farm Income Averaging: You may be able to average all or some of your current year's farm income by allocating it to the three prior years. This may lower your current year tax if your current year income from farming is high, and your taxable income from one or more of the three prior years was low. This method does not change your prior year tax, it only uses the prior year information to determine your current year tax.
  4. Deductible Farm Expenses: The ordinary and necessary costs of operating a farm for profit are deductible business expenses.  An ordinary expense is an expense that is common and accepted in the farming business. A necessary expense is one that is appropriate for the business.
  5. Employees and hired help: You can deduct reasonable wages paid for labor hired to perform your farming operations. This would include full-time employees as well as part-time workers.
  6. Items Purchased for Resale: You may be able to deduct the cost of livestock and other items purchased for resale in the year of sale. This cost includes freight charges for transporting the livestock to the farm.
  7. Net Operating Losses: If your deductible expenses from operating your farm are more than your other income for the year, you may have a net operating loss. If you have a net operating loss this year, you can carry it over to other years and deduct it. You may be able to get a refund of part or all of the income tax you paid for past years, or you may be able to reduce your tax in future years.
  8. Repayment of loans: You cannot deduct the repayment of a loan if the loan proceeds are used for personal expenses. However, if you use the proceeds of the loan for your farming business, you can deduct the interest that you pay on the loan.
  9. Fuel and Road Use: You may be eligible to claim a credit or refund of federal excise taxes on fuel used on a farm for farming purposes.
  10. Farmers Tax Guide: More information about farm income and deductions can be found in IRS Publication 225, Farmer's Tax Guide which is available at IRS.gov or by calling the IRS at 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676). 

Links: IRS Farmers Tax Guide and

IRS forms and publications for farmers

Source: www.irs.gov

Results of Fall Beef Survey

As of November 29th we have had 283 responses to the UMaine Extension Beef
survey that will help us determin the direction of the educational program that will help beef producers.  Of those responding 26% have more than 50 head, 36% have between 15 and 50 head and 29% have less than 15 head.

6% are purchasing their cattle for the first time. 28% plan to expand their herds. 25% have a 4-H Youth Beef project and 11% raise their beef only for home consumption.

Most respondents were interested in learning about animal production topics (258) with 59% interested in animal health, 53% feeds and feeding and 52% basic cow/calf production.

Crop production was cited by 223 respondents with 79% interested in pasture managment and 73% interested in hay production.  Financial and marketing were indicated as important by 219 respondents with 55% interested in farm & livestock recordkeeping, 53% interested in selling retail and 48% interested in farm taxes.

When asked how they prefer to recieve information about the above topics 66% want to attend meetings, 58% would like on-farm visits or tours, 55% would read a newsletter (paper or electronic), and 52% would like to attend hands-on demonstrations.  33% would read information from a website.

Most desirable meeting day and time was Saturday mornings (54%) followed by Saturday afternoons (51%) and Thursday evenings (46%).  But 40% of those responding would not travel more than 50 miles and 8% wouldn't travel more than 20 miles.

When asked when they will consider their beef farm a success 196 folks responded. 84 made a comment about profitability, 37 commented on marketing, 12 when they can farm full time.  Other general areas included sustianability, passing the farm on to others, raising quality animals, breaking even and being appreciated by customers. 

When asked about the biggest challenge in making their farm profitable & additional comments 20 commented directly about the need for an extension beef resource person, and 23 about the need for technical & educational assistance, 18 identified overhead costs as a challenge.  Other general comments were around capital, taxes, and marketing. 

There is still time to complete the survey if you go to http://conta.cc/beefsurvey or if you would like to see the most up to date results you can go to http://conta.cc/beefresults .

I have developed a UMaine Extension Beef website with general information about beef production, pasture & crops for beef, buildings & equipment for beef, USDA marketnews & standards, beef quality assurance and Maine beef organizations.  Check it out at http://umaine.edu/livestock/beef/.

Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Wild Blueberry Farmers

Program benefits include cash payments of up to $4,000 but it requires that you (or someone you designate to) attend 12 hours of free technical training designed to help you develop best management practices and implement an initial business plan. The educational programs will be presented at three locations in State and will also be available to be taken on the TAA for farmers' website. A grower may designate a spouse, sibling or an adult child, who is member of the farm business, to attend the session for them or they may both signup and attend and double their cash benefit if both complete the sessions.

Dave Yarborough, Extension Blueberry Specialist received blanket approval for the eligibility of all wild blueberry growers in Maine, using USDA information showing a decline in price and an increase in imports, so you do not have to provide this information you only need to prove that you are a grower. The initial business plan is a two-page document with six questions that will be filled out at the last educational session. This will also qualify you for the long term business plan with a cash payment of up to $12,000, but requires working with a business consultant - this will not be administered by Cooperative Extension.

Both lobster and shrimp have also qualified for this program, so the cash benefit could be reduced if there is a large signup, but this will not be determined until after the signup ends on 12/29/2010.

Dave urges you to contact your local FSA office before the 12/29/2010 deadline, as you can decide later if you do not want to participate in the program, but if you do not signup by the above date you will lose the opportunity to participate in this program. You can find the location of your local county FSA office at  

FSA Office link or you can call the stateoffice at 990-9100 x 2 to get the number for your county office.

 

Milo 4-H Learning Garden
Milo 4-H Learning Garden
2010 Piscataquis County Cooperative Extension Highlights
Report is available at http://bit.ly/piscataquis. Or you can contact our office for a copy at (207)564-3301 or in Maine 1-800-287-1491.  

AgrAbility

The vision of AgrAbility is to enable a high quality lifestyle for farmers and other agricultural workers with disabilities. Through assistance and education AgrAbility helps to eliminate (or at least minimize) obstacles that block success in productions agriculture or agriculture-related occupations. 

AgrAbility serves those agricultural workers who are limited by any type of physical, cognitive or illness-related disability, such as

  • amputation
  • arthritis
  • back impairment
  • developmental disabilities, such as cerebral palsy or autism
  • disabiling diseases, such as cancer or heart disease
  • mental/behavioral health problems
  • respiratory diseases
  • spinal cord injuries
  • stroke
  • traumatic brain injury
  • visual impairment

You can contact the Maine AgrAbility at the UMaine Extension Office, 24 Main St., Lisbon Falls, ME 04252. Call 207-353-5550 or in Maine 1-800-287-1458 or www.extension.umaine.edu/agrability.

 

 

Items of Interest

 

Soil Testing Discount! Before the ground freezes again you may be able to get soil samples of your fields.  If you hold them until January 1 you can save $5.  Instead of paying $15 the cost of soil samples sent the the University of Maine Analytical Lab is $10 from January 1st to March 1st. For more information on soil testing you can go to UMaine Analytical Lab

 
Commercial Potato Production in North America the Potato Association of America Handbook is now avaliable online at the above link. This is by the Extension Section of the Potato Association of America. Our own Steve Johnson is co-editor of this valuable reference guide for the potato industry.
UMaine Courses for Lifelong Learners: UMaine's Continuing and Distance Education Division is pleased to offer courses and programs designed to meet the diverse needs of lifelong learners. Courses are offered on-campus, at selected off-campus sites, including UMaine's Hutchinson Center in Belfast, and through UMaineOnline.
For more information about courses and services, including registration and academic and student assistance, go to: http://learnonline.umaine.edu or call 207-581-3143 or email [email protected]

Managing Volatility in Agriculture Web Seminar Series, These hard hitting, applied, one hour, interactive segments, will be kicked off on December 8 with presentations on the short and long term pressures creating volatility, and a discussion on how and why producers should approach their businesses to manage the sharp ups and downs much of American Agriculture is experiencing.

  • December 8: Volatility in American Agriculture; Causes, Insights, and Management Principles
  • December 9: Volatility and the Livestock Industry
  • December 15: Volatility and Grains
  • December 16: Volatility and Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (tools with an emphasis on food safety)

Details and Speakers still to be determined.  If you want to make sure you don't miss the next announcement, please send an email to, [email protected] , with a simple statement, "Let me Know".


Featured UMaine Extension Publications  
The following agriculture related Extension publications are available or can be ordered at the Extension Office nearest you.  You will notice that some publications are free and some have a cost recovery charge.  Many other publications are available for free online or may be purchased at our secure publications web site.

Forestry Stick
Item #9103, From UMaine Extension, This has a Biltmore Stick on one side for estimating diameter, height and board foot volume (Int. 1/4") of standing trees. The other side is an International 1/4" Log Rule for scaling sawlogs. NOTE: This stick does not have a metal end, so it cannot be used professionally for scaling logs in Maine.
$10.00

New England Farm Account Book

This account book is designed to make easy the summarization of the results at the end of the year, without making the record keeping too difficult.  The receipts and expenses are classified only to the extent necessary to permit a fair study of the results and to prepar tax returns.  All types of farms (dairy, crop, livestock, etc.) can use this record keeping system.  76 pages, 2005. Published with Risk Management Agency funds.  FREE. Contact your county office for a copy.

 Storey's Barn Guide to Sheep
Item #1111, Publisher: Storey Publishing. D. Burns, S. Guare, and D. Perkins, eds. Designed to accompany the farmer into the barn, this guide provides oversized, full-color, step-by-step visuals that guide farmers through catching and throwing a sheep, trimming hooves, giving injections, lambing, bottle feeding, milking, shearing, and much more. Features full-color anatomical illustrations, a lambing calendar, a feeding chart, and a record-keeping section. 96 pages, 2006. $29.95

Upcoming Events  


  • December 7th, 2010 SARE Farmer Grant Due Date, see Northeast SARE Farmer Grants
  • December 7th, 9th & 14th Business Start-Up Series: 9 am to noon at the Penobscot County Extension Office, 307 Maine Avenue, Bangor, ME 04401. Part 1- Starting Your Own Business: Planning for Success; Part 2 - Know Your Market; Part 3 - Resources for Growing Your Business. For more information or to register contact [email protected] or call (207) 942-7396 or in Maine 1-800-287-1485.
  • December 8th, 2010 - Potato Pest Management Conference   Agenda will be forthcoming on the web page  http://www.umaine.edu/umext/potatoprogram/  or call 1-207-764-3361      
  • December 9th, 2010 - Reducing Fuel & Fertilizer with No-Till and Cover Crops from 9:30 am - 3:30 pm at Governor's Restaurant in Waterville, ME. A workshop for silage corn growers on how to reduce your fuel & fertilizer needs will be offered. Online registration here  or call (207) 342-5971 or 800-287-1426 (in Maine).
  • December 15th, 2010 - Kitchen Licensing Workshop. At MOFGA's Common Ground Education Center in Unity. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. $35 for MOFGA members, $40 for non-members Click here to preregister or call (207) 568-4142.              
  • December 21st, 2010 - Piscataquis County Extension Association Pot Luck Lunch - noon at Donna Coffin's house, 231 Summer St., Dover-Foxcroft.
  • December 22nd, 2010 Maine Highlands Farmers 6 pm potluck meeting at Donna Coffin's house, 231 Summer St., Dover-Foxcroft. www.mainehighlandsfarmers.com
  • January 10th, 2011 Tri-State Greenhouse IPM Conference, at Longfellow's Greenhouse, Manchester, ME.  For more information contact Margaret Skinner at 802-656-5440 or [email protected]
  • January 11th - 13th, 2011 - Maine Agriculture Trade Show - Augusta Civic Center, Augusta. ME Ag Trade Show Information
  • January 19th & 20th  2011 - Maine Potato Conference Agenda will be forthcoming on the web page  http://www.umaine.edu/umext/potatoprogram/  or call 1-207-764-3361   
  • January 24th & 25th, 2011 Maine Wind Energy Conference, Augusta Civic Center, Augusta. For more information email [email protected] or go to their web site at  Maine Wind Energy Conference
  • January 26th, 2011 Maine Landscape and Nursery Association (MeLNA) Annual Trade Show & Conference at the Ramada Inn, Lewiston.  For more information contact Mark Faunce at 207-625-3075 or [email protected] or www.melna.org
  • January 26th, 2011 Maine Highlands Farmers Meeting  7 pm at the Piscataquis County Extension Office in Dover-Foxcroft. www.mainehighlandsfarmers.com
  • January 28th - 29th, 2011 - 3rd Annual Maine Farmers' Market Convention, 2011. The Hutchinson Center, Belfast. Presented by: Down East Business Alliance. Contact: [email protected] or 207-664-2424 ext 4460.
  • February 23rd, 2011 Maine Highlands Farmers 7 pm Speakers: Greg White and Aaron Hoshide from School of Business UMaine to talk about Internet Marketing and offer a hands-on demonstration of budgeting using the Excel spreadsheets at the Piscataquis County Extension Office in Dover-Foxcroft. www.mainehighlandsfarmers.com
  • March 2nd & 3rd, 2011 - Harvest New England Agriculture Marketing Conference and Trade Show - Sturbridge, MA. Pre-conference session on March 1st. NE Ag Marketing Info or call 860-713-2559.
  • March 3,10,24,31 & April 7 So You Want to Farm in Maine? 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm to be held at the Penobscot County Extension Office in Bangor.  A farm business course for those already farming who would like to brush-up on their business skills or for those thinking about becoming farmers. Topics include selecting and evaluating a farm enterprise, writing a business plan, recordkeeping, market research and more. Cost is $50 per farm.  For more information contact  [email protected] or call 207-942-7396 or in Maine 1-800-287-1485.   
  • March 19th, 2011 Maine Grazing and Beef Conferences at Kennebec Valley College, Fairfield, ME.
  • March 23rd, 2011 Maine Highlands Farmers 7pm at the Piscataquis County Extension Office, Dover-Foxcroft. www.mainehighlandsfarmers.com
  •  
Contact Info
Donna Coffin, Extension Educator
207-564-3301 or in Maine 1-800-287-1491
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Information in this newsletter is provided purely for educational purposes. No responsibility is assumed for any problems associated with the use of products or services mentioned in this newsletter. No endorsement of products or companies is intended, nor is criticism of unnamed products or companies implied. 
   

SURFACE MAIL RECIPIENTS CAN CONTACT THEIR COUNTY EXTENSION OFFICE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION WHEN WEB LINKS ARE INCLUDED IN AN ARTICLE.

 

Piscataquis County Office 207-564-3301 or 800-287-1491

165 East Main Street Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426

 

Penobscot County Office 207-942-7396 or 800-287-1485

307 Maine Avenue Bangor, ME 04401