With: Mark Jensen, president and CEO of Farm Credit Services of America Ben Herink, farm loan manager with the USDA Farm Service Agency Ken Mehlin, executive vice president and chief credit officer of Bruning Bank Daryl Wilton, executive vice president and chief credit officer of Cornerstone Bank in York With wide swings in the stock market, employment, GDP and other economic indicators, 2020 may be one of the most volatile years since the Great Depression. This panel discussion will focus on how farm lending has changed in 2020 and what agricultural lenders who provide credit to Nebraska producers anticipate going forward.

With Dave Aiken, professor and extension water and agricultural law specialist in the Department of Agricultural Economics. 

Aiken explains each of the six initiatives facing voters, along with the positions of both proponents and opponents of each issue and what the potential impact of each issue could be, especially on property taxes. 

Measures on the Nov. 3 ballot that will be discussed include two proposed constitutional amendments: one that would eliminate slavery or involuntary servitude as punishment of a crime and another that would extend the maximum time for tax increment financing for redevelopment projects in cities and villages from 15 to 20 years if at least half the project area is extremely blighted. Ballot initiatives that will be covered include a proposal to reduce payday loan charges, and a trio of proposals centered around allowing and regulating casino gambling.

Tina Barrett is a farm financial consultant and director of Nebraska Farm Business, Inc., which provides financial analysis, business planning and tax services to over 400 farm and ranch businesses across the state. She reviews the current financial positions of farms included in Nebraska Farm Business’s annual farm averages report, looking at net income, cost of production, debt and net worth, and what these numbers reveal about the variability among operations and outlook going forward.

With Brad Lubben, associate professor and extension policy specialist, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Farm program payments are a significant part of the bottom line for farmers and ranchers in 2020, whether from existing commodity programs, agricultural disaster assistance, or trade and COVID-19 relief. This session will review current program details and projections, including ARC and PLC payments due to producers in October (for the 2019 crop year). A broader outlook for farm income based on national projections from USDA in early September and state-level analysis will provide a baseline for economic outlook and farm policy issues and decisions moving forward.

With Dave Aiken, professor and agricultural law specialist, Department of Agricultural Economics.

The 2020 Unicameral at the last minute provided property tax relief of around 6% for most property owners. Learn how this happened and how to estimate your “property tax refund” that you could get next year.

With Brad Lubben, associate professor and policy specialist, Department of Agricultural Economics; Jeffrey Stokes, professor and Hanson-Clegg-Allen Chair in Agricultural Banking and Finance, Department of Agricultural Economics; and Eric Thompson, Karl H. Nelson Associate Professor of Economics and director of the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Nebraska’s total net farm income is a little over 5% of the state’s total personal income on average. Those percentages rank Nebraska third highest of the 50 states and the highest percentage for any state with a population over 1 million.

This study is a joint collaborative effort of the Department of Agricultural Economics and the Bureau of Business Research within the Department of Economics and funded internally by the Institute of Agricultural and Natural Resources (IANR) of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. It draws on substantial expertise in key issues affecting agriculture such as irrigation, natural resources, the agricultural equipment industry, and community economic development.

Read the full report at agecon.unl.edu/agimpact.

With Jay Rempe, senior economist, Nebraska Farm Bureau.

Over the past year, events have rocked the cattle industry and drove to the surface long-standing questions concerning the cattle markets and market structure. These concerns resulted in numerous policy proposals being offered in Washington D.C. In response, the Nebraska Farm Bureau created a Task Force of cattle producers to study current cattle markets and offer policy suggestions and recommendations. Rempe will discuss the recent market events, responses by producers, and the Task Force work and recommendations, and what it learned along the way about Nebraska’s cattle industry relative to the rest of the country.

With Jim Jansen and Austin Duerfeldt, extension agricultural economists, and Allan Vyhnalek, extension educator for farm and ranch succession, Department of Agricultural Economics. From Sept. 10, 2020.

This workshop will prepare landowners and tenants for 2021 by offering information and analysis on cash rental rates, flexible leasing, landlord/tenant communication, farm succession and utilizing USDA programs. The webinar is being held in lieu of the traditional in-person land management meetings that are typically held across the state this time of year. The team will present on current cash rental rates, innovative strategies for setting equitable leases and strategic planning for uncertainty due to price volatility in the markets.

More resources at https://farm.unl.edu/farmland-trends-and-lease-considerations-2021-sept-10-2020-webinar.

With Elliott Dennis, assistant professor of livestock marketing and risk management, Department of Agricultural Economics. From Sept. 3, 2020.

This webinar will discuss the factors going into cow-calf producer decisions on whether to retain cattle to feedlots or keep cattle for backgrounding.

More resources at https://farm.unl.edu/ownership-retention-decisions-market-willing-pay-sept-3-2020-webinar. 

With Allan Vyhnalek, extension educator for farm and ranch succession, Department of Agricultural Economics. From Aug. 27, 2020.

When those who are closest to us are also our business partners, things can get complicated. But planning and decision-making can go more smoothly with improved communications. Successful farm and ranch transitions depend on meaningful family discussions and even negotiations. This webinar will highlight specific skills and ideas that will help with these conversations. Tips and common traps of negotiations will be covered as well.

More resources at: https://farm.unl.edu/successful-ag-succession-communications-and-negotiation-aug-27-2020-webinar.