Managing Wheat this Winter

Becks Hybird's put together a wheat management plan to follow.  They published it on Agriculture.com.  The following is the plan in a nutshell.

Wheat Management

September is upon us and that means wheat planting time.  Many farmers are getting ready to harvest their soybeans.  Although this year it looks like harvest will be later than normal.  The question for most is when do I plant wheat?  It's pretty simple.  The earlier the better.

Early Planted Wheat Offers the Following Advantages

1. Better emergence and fall growth.
2. More tillers will form in the fall with early planting.
3. Tillers that form in the fall have larger heads than tillers formed in the spring.
4. Less heaving the following spring if the nodal roots start to establish.

There Are Some Potential Disadvantages to Planting Early

1. Hessian Fly could become an issue.  Although this hasn't been an issue recently, it's best to plant after the fly free date.  See the chart above to get an idea what your date would be.  Planting prior to the fly free date can cause issues with aphids which can transmit barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV).  BYDV hurts more when the plant gets the disease in the fall compared to the spring.
2. Early planting may cause leaf diseases in the fall which is more dangerous than in the spring.
3. The earlier you the plant the earlier the wheat will try to come out in winter.  This is influenced by genetics more so than planting date.  A late spring frost will hurt plants coming out too early.

Despite all this the potential higher yield out weighs all the dangers associated with planting early.  It is in my opinion to go ahead and plant as soon as possible.  Good luck.

Ownership and Estate Planning

Trusts

There are two kinds of trusts that are commonly seen in the farmland industry.  There is the revocable or family trust and there's the irrevocable trust.

The revocable or family trust is were usually you or a family member is the trustee.

A irrevocable trust usually involves a corporate trustee.  I will go into different kinds of corporate trusts you can set up and what is best for you in future posts.

Types of Property Ownership

Tenancy in Common

Tenancy in common is another commonly seen type of farmland ownership we see.  Tenancy in common is where a property is held by two or more persons with only the unity of possession.  There may hold a varying size of interest in the property.  The owners may take the title at different times.  The owners may also have different deeds.

Possible Issues

The owners will share an undivided possession.  So upon the death of one owner there is no right of survivorship.  The other owner can't take the passed owners shares unless stated so in a will.  Decedent's interest passes to his or her will.  Or, it passes to the state law of distribution.

Types of Property Ownership

Most Common is Joint Tenancy

The number one form of land ownership we see is called joint tenancy.  Joint tenancy is where all co-owners are equal.  There is a right to survivorship which means one of the co-owners passes away his or her share would then be passed on to the remaining co-owners.  This is common with married couples.  This does not go through probate when one owner dies.  And it does not pass according to a will.

Possible Issues

When the co-owners both die the descendant's ownership disappears.  It passes free of unsecured creditors.  There can be a problem if there are marriage difficulties or there are children for a previous marriage.  Also, it will not be included in the descendant's estate, therefore it cannot have an exemption made against it.

Fitting Future Farm Owners Into Your Plans

Succession Planning

This question almost always comes up at some point when people talk about buying farmland.  How do I make sure this is passed on to my children or grandchildren properly.  There are many different ways but they all fall under the umbrella of succession planning.  

Succession planning is a continuous process to transfer knowledge, skills, management, control and ownership between generations.

Decisions Affecting Succession Planning

There are three main things that affect succession planning.  First is ownership.  How is that defined or going to be defined.  The second is what type of business entity is it going to be.  Is it a corporation, a LLC etc.  Finally you have to think about estate planning.  Is it part of your retirement?  How will it affect you tax planning?

How To Get Started On Succession Planning

You want to know your basis and how your property is owned.  Depending on that is how you would get started.  I will go over the different forms of ownership in the next handful of posts.