American farmers awaiting decision related to IRS Tax Code

Dec 12, 2014

Section 179 expired in December 2013

By Diego Flammini, Farms.com

A Congress ruling scheduled to come down by the end of the year could have a major impact on small and medium-sized businesses across the United States and farmers are no exception.

Should Section 179 of America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2014 pass, farmers would be able to expense close to $500,000 in new farm machinery and equipment.

Since its expiration in 2013, Section 179 only allows for $25,000 of purchases to be written-off.

The bill is expected to pass, but until it does for sure, farmers appear hesitant to pull the trigger on a major purchase.

"There's a lot of farmers right now that are kind of in the mix where you have a conversation, they know where they're at for the year, they've talked to their bankers, they're basically sitting," Butler Machinery Ag Director Mark Madson said. "We can give them a quote on a tractor or a combine or something and they're sitting on the sidelines waiting to make a decision."

The bill will also restore and make payments related to computer software, air conditioning and heating, and some property expenses.

Some people are worried that if the bill doesn’t pass, jobs in small towns could be jeopardized.

“In almost all small towns there are equipment dealers,” Andrew Goodman, CEO of the Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association said. "In many cases, they are the larger employers, so their sales, the employment in those communities is dependent on the flow of agriculture and agricultural equipment."

Current data shows tractor and agricultural equipment revenue in the United States at $42 billion for 2014.

View more information about America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2014.

View more data on Tractor and Ag Equipment Revenue.

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.