Check out the recent Farm Futures Ag Finance Boot Camp that was recently held in St. Louis. The program was hosted by Farm Futures magazine and was sponsored by John Deere, Farm Credit, and the Council. More than 80 farmers attended!

Officers and board members of the Farm Financial Standards Council presented, and Julie Strain of Red Wing Software was a speaker at the event.

Read more here: Council Members Featured at Farm Futures Boot Camp

Check out this amazing video by Farm Credit East! The video gives first-hand details about how CenterPoint Accounting for Agriculture works for farms, and how Farm Credit East helps farms.

Dave Rozmarich is a programmer who lives in Colorado, and has been developing Red Wing Software programs for 15 years. While by day he builds and improves Red Wing Software’s products, Dave is an avid sports fan! I caught up with Dave and here’s what he had to say!

“I′ve been a Colorado Avalanche season ticket holder for 15 years. I saw Ray Bourque raise the cup in 2001, and have a picture of it framed, right above my desk. I′m also a huge Broncos fan, and even though they just lost the Super Bowl, I will always remember the day when John Elway won his first Super Bowl. I also love spending time with my two daughters, bringing them to places like amusement parks, zoos and museums. It’s just fun to see how much fun they are having.”

By Stephanie Elsen

Professionals from the Farm Financial Standards Council are answering questions about ag financial matters (non-tax related). Here is a question that was recently submitted.

QUESTION

“My question pertains to death loss at a cattle feed yard. Cattle are purchased by lots and accounted for by lots. There is a typical amount of death loss, of course, in each lot. In general, no adjustment is made for normal death loss. In other words, the cost of those cattle and the feed they consumed up to death remains in the lot until sales occur. In a year where death losses are extraordinary (say 20% rather than the normal 2-7%), does an adjustment to inventory need to be made when there is still significant equity in each individual lot? When doing a lower of cost or market analysis (with the cost of the deads still included in the inventory cost), the market value still exceeds the cost. ”

ANSWER

The Guidelines don’t specifically speak to this issue, but Steve Severe the CFO of Padlock Ranch in Ranchester, WY and a member of the Farm Financial Standards Council Technical Committee, provides the following guidance.

"In my experience, I have always left the death loss with the lot until the lot is closed out (even if that closeout crosses over year-end). The decision to treat them on a lot basis conforms with GAAP. Where the cost for the lot, including the deads, is less than market value, that would give me comfort to leave it unadjusted.”

Farm Financial Standards Council

Click Here to Email Your Questions or email FFSC@redwingsoftware.com with a subject line of “Questions for the FFSC”. The FFSC will select questions to answer on this blog.

CenterPoint Accounting customer, Rendell Tullar, of Tullando Farm, was featured in the January issue of Dairy Today in the article Dollars and Sense. To read the entire article, click here.

The January 19, 2014 issue of Progressive Dairyman featured several of our CenterPoint Accounting customers in the special insert for the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin 2014 Business Conference. Included were: Deric Lindstrom from Breezy Point Farms, Jim & Sue Kruger and Jeff & Lisa Buchholz of So-Fine Bovines LLC, and Paul Fetzer from Fetzer Farms.

Also featured in this issue, was Vir-Clar Farms in the Calf & Heifer Raising section of the magazine. You can click here to read the entire article.

Tubergen Dairy Farm, LLC, a CenterPoint Accounting customer, was featured in the January 10, 2014 issue of Hoard’s Dairyman. The dairy farm is a 2013 Platinum award winner in the 63rd Annual Hoard’s Dairyman Round Table. Congratulations from all of us at Red Wing Software!