One of my clients called recently to tell me about his new 2011 snowmobile that he had bought for $15,800. It wasn’t long into our conversation when he said how handy this new snow machine would be for monitoring grain stored away from his farmyard, either in bags or in hard-to-get-at bins. My job was […] Read more
Stories by Allyn Tastad
GPS guided spray boom controls quickly pay for themselves
While talking with a farmer over lunch, he mentioned how pleased he was with his family’s recent purchase of a sprayer with automatic boom selection controls.These are GPS-guided devices that eliminate skips and overlaps by shutting off sprayer boom sections when they enter a sprayed area and turning on boom sections when they leave the […] Read more
Weigh risk, benefit of using inflated machinery trade-in value – Farm Accounts
Last week, one of our clients bought two new tractors and traded in two used tractors. The dealer’s trade-in values for the used tractors were considerably higher than what our client had originally paid, which prompted a call to our office. Our client had agreed to pay $160,000 for one of the tractors after the […] Read more
Know your lender’s measurement criteria
A banker called me to review a farmer’s financial information. He appreciated the additional ratios and other per acre measurements that were attached as a supplementary to the grain farmer’s financial statements. In our discussion, he suggested we keep track of one other measurement: principal and interest repayments per acre. According to this banker, farmers […] Read more
Be a pirate — lease your bins and write them off sooner
One of our clients recently upgraded his on-farm storage facilities by leasing three hopper bins at a cost of $25,000. How did leasing bins compare with the more typical purchase using bank loan financing? If our farmer had opted for a bank loan to finance buying the bins, the bank would have registered a security […] Read more
Implementing shareholders’ agreement can prevent costly litigation – Farm Accounts
Last week I met with two unrelated owners of an incorporated business. They were looking for guidance to prepare their business to deal with their death or disability. How would their shares in the business be valued? When would this value be paid? How would the shareholders or the company finance these payments? Typically, corporations […] Read more
Application required for rebate
There’s good news for Saskatchewan farmers in the March 29 provincial budget. Retroactive to Jan. 1, 2000, the cap on the Farm Fuel Rebate Program will be eliminated. Farmers will be fully reimbursed for provincial tax on all fuel used in farming operations. However, farmers still must file for rebates on gasoline used in farming […] Read more
