There’s an old saying that goes a little something like this, “Home is where your parents are…” And no matter where you grew up or how old you grow, there is a kid inside of us all who will always long to go back home. When the road is too winding, when the day is […]
Changes in Child Labor Laws have been a hot topic in recent years. In particular, these changes affect minors (individuals under the age of 18) working in agriculture. If you own or operate a farm that employs young people, here is some important information you need to know about hiring kids to work on the farm. […]
Farm life has its high points. After all, there is nothing like working with your family to enrich the lives of others with the bounty of nature. Yet, the long hours and intense stress that accompanies working on a farm makes it ever so important for couples to focus on preventing farm divorces. Fortunately, keeping that […]
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Farm Tax Tips to Keep in Mind
Tax time is rapidly approaching again. A farm is a business and like all businesses, a farm needs all the help it can get when it comes to saving on taxes. Here are some farm tax tips regarding deductions, income averaging and commodity wages that can help lessen the tax burden. Deductions Ordinary and Necessary Expenses – […]
Between 2007 and 2012, the number of farms in the U.S. decreased as their average size increased, indicating further erosion of the small family farm market share in relation to Big Ag and conglomerates. It’s increasingly difficult for small family farmers to make money or shape farm policy in an environment where Big Ag rules. Yet […]
A group in Maine are developing a small farms and local food economy specialized credit union. Called the Maine Harvest Credit Project, the group is working toward a nonprofit, member-owned credit union that fills a critical financial services need: small, low interest loans for the acquisition of land and financing of specialized food processing and […]
Farm Planning is one of the most important aspects of operating a farm generation after generation. Over time, the logistics of farm planning have become more and more complex. We are a long way from that simple stick that many less technologically developed people used to dig their holes and plant their precious seeds. As a […]
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Apps for Farmers
An app, short for application, is a software program for mobile devices like phones and tablets, computers, and online use. Most commonly, apps are referred to as being used on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Some apps are free and some cost; they can be purchased or downloaded from several “app stores” that are […]
Harvest Power’s bacterial mascot, Burp Reynolds, describes the anaerobic digester. “Anaerobic digestion is awesome! You put stuff, like pizza crusts, banana peels and fish guts – into a warm, airtight box. Then tiny bugs eat up the yummy things like the fats, sugars and starches. Then the bugs burp and fart! And if you capture those burps and […]
Many people come back to farming after careers off the land. Others find themselves wanting to keep up with new research and trends in agriculture. There are a number of training programs designed for new farmers, many of which are available as webinars and online. The National Farmer’s Union has the Beginning Farmer’s Institute. The […]
