Queen Anne’s County Agronomy Day

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Calendar P.2

MDA Press Release—Annual Implementation Reports (AIR) Forms Now Available

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Organic Production Meeting - Grain, Dairy, Vegetables & Poultry

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Instructional Videos for Online Private Applicator License Renewal

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Maryland Risk Management

Education Blog

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Maryland Risk Management

Education Blog (cont’d)

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2017 Cecil County Cooperator of the Year

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Weed Resistant Herbicide

Workshop

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Census of Agriculture P.6

Annie’s Project Mid Shore P.6

Volume 8, Issue 2 February 2018

AGLINE

DAIRY INFORMATION

http://extension.psu.edu/animals/dairy

LIVESTOCK INFORMATION http://extension.psu.edu/

POULTRY INFORMATION https://extension.umd.edu/poultry

GRAIN INFORMATION

http://extension.umd.edu/grain

FOREST STEWARDSHIP EDUCATION

https://extension.umd.edu/news/newsletters/branching-out

WATERSHED PROTECTION/RESTORATION https://extension.umd.edu/news/newsletters/

headwaters

Newsletter—Cecil, Kent, and Queen Anne’s Counties

QUEEN ANNE’S COUNTY AGRONOMY DAY

Queen Anne’s County 4-H Park, Centreville, MD

March 2, 2018

8:00 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. 8:00 a.m. Registration; Visit with Sponsors; Coffee, Donuts, Snacks,

Fruit 8:30 a.m. Weed & Herbicide Control Up-Date

Dr. Mark J. VanGessel Professor and Extension Weed Specialist University of Delaware 9:30 a.m. Pesticide Drift – Protecting Yourself and Your Farm

Kelly Nuckolls, Legal Extension Specialist University of Maryland Ag and Resource Economics 10:30 a.m. Break 15 min 10:45- Managing Potassium for Maximum Crop Production

11:45 a.m. Dr. Gurpal S. Toor, Associate Professor, Nutrient Management University of Maryland 10:45- Aquatic Pesticide Update (Meeting Room)

11:15 a.m. Don Webster, Regional Extension Specialist Wye Research & Education Center 11:45 a.m. Nutrient Management Update

Howard Callahan, Nutrient Management Specialist Maryland Department of Agriculture 12:45 p.m. Clicker Evaluation 1:00 p.m. Lunch (Free—Courtesy of your local Ag Supplier sponsors) 2:00 p.m. Dicamba Training—Mandatory annual training on dicamba for specialized use. The required annual training is in addition to any certification or recertification training an applicator may take to achieve or maintain certification itself. Bill Boylan, BASF

Pesticide, MD & DE Nutrient Management & CCA Credits Offered

Pesticide — Private Applicators: full credits

Commercial: 8 credits in categories 1A, 5, 6, 9, & 10

Nutrient Management – 2 credits approved for Maryland and Delaware

Certified Crop Advisors – NM 2 credits, IPM 2 credits SPONSORS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS THROUGHTOUT PRO-

GRAM

If you would like to sponsor this event, forms can be obtained from the website, https://extension.umd.edu/queen-annes-county,

or call the QA Extension Office, 410-758-0166.

Volume 8, Issue 2 Page 2

FEBRUARY 2018 02 - Livestock & Poultry Farm Reporting Continuous Re-

lease Emissions (CERCLA), AIR Workshop, 9:00 a.m.-3:00

p.m., Denton, MD. For more information, contact Jon Moyle,

jmoyle@umd.edu, 410-742-1178 or Jenny Rhodes,

jrhodes@umd.edu, 410-758-0166.

05 - Update Your Nutrient Management Plan, 1:00-4:00

p.m., WREC, Queenstown, MD. Register by contacting Paul

Shipley at 301-405-2563 or prs@umd.edu.

05 - Census of Agriculture Questionnaire Deadline. Details

P6

05 - Livestock & Poultry Farm Reporting Continuous Re-

lease Emissions (CERCLA), AIR Workshop, 9:00 a.m.-3:00

p.m., Salisbury, MD. For more information, contact Jon

Moyle, jmoyle@umd.edu, 410-742-1178 or Jenny Rhodes,

jrhodes@umd.edu, 410-758-0166.

06 - Timely Ag Issues/Grain Marketing, 7:30 a.m., QA Ex-

tension Office, Centreville, MD, coffee, donuts.

07 - Food Safety and Recall Readiness Webinar Series,

CSA Food Safety and Recall Readiness, 11:00 a.m.-12:30

p.m. To access the webinars, visit https://

foodsafetywebinars.eventbrite.com/. 08-09 - 2018 MidAtlantic Women in Ag Conference, Dover

Downs, DE. Registration information available at

http://extension.umd.edu/womeninag/annual-conference.

9-10 - Maryland Grape Grower’s Association Annual Con-

ference, Baltimore, MD. For more information, visit http://

www.marylandgrapes.org/.

10 - Mid-Atlantic Small Flock Expo, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.,

Westminster, MD. For information and to register, visit

https://mid-atlantic-small-flock-expo.eventbrite.com/, or call

410-742-1178.

13 - Eastern Shore Vegetable Meeting. Cambr idge,

MD. Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2018-eastern-

shore-vegetable-growers-meeting-tickets-38584279619 or by

calling 410-228-8800 to register. 14 - WIA Wednesday Webinar— Divorce and Farming.

For information and to register visit http://

www.extension.umd.edu/womeninag/webinars.

14 - Valentine’s Day 15 - Food Safety and Recall Readiness Webinar Series, On

-Farm Market Food Safety and Recall Readiness, 11:00 a.m.-

12:30 p.m. To access the webinars, visit https://

foodsafetywebinars.eventbrite.com/. 16 - Weed Resistant Herbicide Workshop, 8:00 a.m.-12:00

p.m., Chestertown, MD. Call 410-778-1661 to register. De-

tails P5

19 - President’s Day

20 - Food Safety and Recall Readiness Webinar Series,

Agritourism Food Safety and Recall Readiness, 12:00 p.m.-

1:30 p.m. To access the webinars, visit https://

foodsafetywebinars.eventbrite.com/.

21 - Soil Health Workshop: Economics & Soil Health.

Georgetown, DE. Call 302-856-3990, x3 or Bob-

bi.Heck@de.nacdnet.net.

21 - Bay Area Fruit School 2018, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Wye

REC, Queenstown, MD. To register, call 410-827-8056 or

online visit https://2018fruitschool.eventbrite.com 21 - Annie’s Project—Mid-Shore Maryland, 6:00 p.m.-9:00

p.m., Denton, MD. For more information and to register, visit

http://extension.umd.edu/annies-project/class-information, or

call 410-822-1244. 28 - WIA Wednesday Webinar— Smart Use Health Insur-

ance-Smart Actions. For information and to register visit

http://www.extension.umd.edu/womeninag/webinars.

28 - Palmer Amaranth Stakeholder Meeting, 9:00 a.m.-

12:00 p.m., Maryland Department of Agriculture, Annapolis,

MD. Call 410-841-5920 or email ppwm.mda@maryland.gov

to register.

MARCH 2018

01 - Annual Implementation Reports (AIRs) Due Details

P3 02 - Queen Anne’s County Agronomy Day. Details P1 06 - Timely Ag Issues/Grain Marketing, 7:30 a.m., QA Ex-

tension Office, Centreville, MD, coffee, donuts. 06-08 - 2018 Eastern Winery Exposition, Lancaster , PA.

Visit https://easternwineryexposition.com/.

07 - The Woods in Your Backyard Online Course, https://

extension.umd.edu/woodland/woods-your-backyard/online-

course

08 - Calf Fed Holstein Beef Workshop, 9:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.,

Frederick, MD. To register, call 301-405-1392 or visit http://

umdcalffedholstein.eventbrite.com.

09 - Organic Production Meeting - Grain, Dairy, Vegetable,

& Poultry, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Wye Mills, MD. Details P3

11 - Daylight Savings Time Begins 14 - WIA Wednesday Webinar— What Specialty Crop

Enterprise is Right for You? For information and to register

visit http://www.extension.umd.edu/womeninag/webinars.

20 - First Day of Spring

24 - Healthy Habits for Native Wildlife, 9:00 a.m.-3:15 p.m.,

Cockeysville, MD. https://extension.umd.edu/events/sat-2018-

03-24-0900-healthy-habitats-native-wildlife

28 - WIA Wednesday Webinar— Risk Management for

Food Entrepreneurs. For information and to register visit

http://www.extension.umd.edu/womeninag/webinars.

CALENDAR

Volume 8, Issue 2 Page 3

2017 Annual Implementation Reporting Forms in the

Mail & Available Online ANNAPOLIS, MD (Dec. 20, 2017) – The Maryland Department of Agriculture has announced that 2017 Annual Implementation Reporting Forms and instructions will be mailed in early January to about 5,500 Maryland farmers who are regulated under the Nutrient Management Program. These farmers are required to follow nutrient management plans when fertilizing crops and managing animal manure and submit annual reporting forms to the department by March 1 describing nutrient applications made during the previous calendar year. The 2017 reporting forms are available for download on the department’s website.

Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) operating under a permit from the Maryland Department of the Environment should submit one com-bined Reporting Form along with a manure analysis to the Nutrient Management Program.

Farmers should follow these guidelines when completing their Annual Implementation Reporting Forms:

Use the pre-filled reporting form that arrives in the mail. Additional reporting forms and instructions can be downloaded from the website.

Do not leave spaces blank. If nutrients were not applied, place a zero in the box.

If the information requested does not apply, write N/A in the box.

Use the pre-printed envelope to mail the report by the March 1 deadline. Affix appropriate postage.

Failure to submit a reporting form may result in fines and/or loss of eligibility to receive cost-share funds.

Farmers should check their mailboxes for this year’s nutrient management reporting forms beginning January 8, 2018. For more information, con-tact your regional nutrient management office.

Confused on How to Use MDA's New Website for Renewing Private Applicator Licenses?

Check out these new instructional videos created by Veronica Johnson, MDA, and Peter Coffey, University of Maryland Extension.

How To Login and Renew a

Private Applicator License

https://go.umd.edu/renewinglicense

How to Print Your License Once Your Renewal

Has Been Approved

https://go.umd.edu/printinglicense

Organic Production Meeting Grain, Dairy, Vegetables & Poultry

March 9, 8:30am-2:30pm

Chesapeake College-Higher Education Center Wye Mills, MD

Learn about organic grain, dairy, poultry, and vegetable pro-duction. Meet and share best practices with other local organ-ic farmers and organic business sponsors. This year there will be two panel discussions. The first panel consists of “The Next Generation of Organic Farmers.” Come listen to local young farmers tell about their operations and ask them questions. A wide variety of commodities will be represented which will bring various perspectives and knowledge.

The second panel will be “Latest Organic Research in the Mid-Atlantic.” Hear from regional scientists on their research with organic production. Learn about their research and they also want to hear from farmers/producers what areas of research can help them improve on their organic farms. The agenda can be viewed at ORGANIC. For more information contact jrhodes@umd.edu, 410-758-0166 or Nate Richards, nrich-ards@umd.edu, 410 778-1661. Course fee is $10 and includes continental breakfast and lunch. To register visit https://organicproductionmtg.eventbrite.com.

Program offered in partnership with: USDA-ARS Beltsville Agricul-tural Research Center, University of Maryland Extension,

University of Delaware Cooperative Extension, Maryland Department of Agriculture, & Chesapeake College,

Continuing Education & Workforce Development

Volume 8, Issue 2 Page 4

W H A T D O E S T H E N E W F E D E R A L T A X L A W M E A N F O R M Y F A R M O P E R A T I O N ?

J a n u a r y 1 7 , 2 0 1 8 K e l l y N u c k o l l s

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the new federal tax law passed at the end of 2017, has several changes that farmers should consider discussing with their accountant or attorney at the start of the New Year. While there are a number of changes in the new federal tax law, this post will highlight only a few specific changes that farm operations should pay attention to, including the new corporate tax rates, deductions for property taxes, and changes to federal estate tax law. For more information and details on other new federal tax law changes for 2018, you should consult your attorney or ac-countant. Farm business entities that are C-corporations or LLCs that are taxed at the corporate rate should consider the new fed-eral tax law’s changes to the corporate tax rate. The new tax bill lowered the tax rates for most businesses, except for smaller C-corporations and certain LLCs. Depending on how they are structured, LLCs are taxed as either a corporation, partnership, or with an individual’s tax return. From now on, all corporations will be taxed at 21 percent. Before the new federal tax law, corporations with a taxable income of less than $50,000 were taxed at 15 percent. Farm operations taxed as corporations could see a significant increase in their tax rate if their taxable income is less than $50,000. These businesses may save money on their taxes if they reshape how their entity is structured. For example, an LLC could be restructured to meet the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) re-quirements to be taxed as a partnership instead of a corpora-tion. If you have an LLC that has been taxed as a corporation in the past, it might be useful to discuss with your attorney or accountant how you can restructure your LLC to be taxed as a partnership. Also, there are also other business entities, such as S-corporations and partnerships that are not taxed at the corporate rate. While this may only impact a small number of farms, it is important to determine if the new fed-eral corporate tax rate will significantly increase your feder-al income taxes. If you were able to deduct your property taxes in past tax years, you may want to check if you will still be able to use this deduction to reduce your federal income taxes. The new federal tax law capped the amount of state and local taxes (i.e. income, sales, and property taxes) deduction at $10,000. This $10,000 cap does not apply, however, if local property taxes are paid on property that is part of a business that files a Schedule C, Schedule E, or Schedule F (the form farms usu-ally use for reporting farm business income and expenses). If the property taxes are part of this “business expense,” the full amount of the property tax, even if it is over $10,000, can still be deducted and will help to reduce your federal income taxes. If some of the property tax you pay includes property

for personal use, not business purposes, that personal use percentage of your property taxes would not qualify as a business expense. In this case, the percentage of property taxes going toward personal property would only be deduct-ible in combination with all other state and local taxes, such as income taxes, up to the $10,000 cap. Farmers may want to double check that most of their paid property tax qualifies as a business expense that can be deducted on one of these forms. There are limitations on what activities qualify as business expenses, and what types of business operations can report their business income and expenses on a Sched-ule C, Schedule E, or Schedule F form.

The new federal tax law might also mean your farm estate and succession plans will no longer need to focus on reduc-ing your estate for estate tax purposes. An estate pays a federal estate tax if the estate’s worth is over a certain amount. The federal estate tax in the past might have caused financial concerns for the next generation of farmers, with the trigger amounts for paying federal estate taxes set at around $5 million per individual and almost $11 million for married couples. Now, the new federal tax bill has doubled what an estate must be worth before it will be required to pay federal estate taxes. For 2018, an unmarried individual’s estate must be worth $11.2 million, and $22.4 million for married couples before the estate is taxed. This amount will continue to increase with inflation, until 2025. In 2026, the federal estate tax trigger amount will be cut in half and will go back to around $5 million per person and $11 million for married couples. For now, most farm families can focus on other estate and succession planning issues, instead of estate tax issues.

(continued on page 5)

Photo by Edwin Remsberg

Volume 8, Issue 2 Page 5

Custom Hops Dryer designed by Ryan Rhodes

(Photo Credit: Nate P. Richards)

Richards)

Congratulations James Yale, Jr.

Mineral Springs Farm Cecil County Soil Conservation District 2017

Outstanding Cooperator of the Year The Yale family obtained their first conservation plan in 1946 and began with contour strips, diversions, tile drainage and wildlife areas. Additional BMP’s added in 2016-2017 included a new waste storage structure, heavy use areas, roof runoff structures, storm water management systems, access roads, and stream fencing. The farm operates under an advanced nutrient management plan including manure injection and a dragline manure application to minimize soil compaction and protect soil health. James Yale has provided countless opportu-nities for young farmers looking to lease a farm to get started in agriculture. He continues to make conservation improve-ments through the NRCS EQIP and Maryland MACS programs. The Yale farm is preserved under the Maryland Rural Legacy Program. Mr. James Yale is committed to the sustainability of his family farm with the wise use and conservation of the natu-ral resources.

(continued from page 4) The new federal estate tax trigger amounts could potentially impact states’ estate taxes as well. Some states have a state level estate tax if an estate is over a certain amount. In Delaware, starting in 2018, the estate tax has been elimi-nated, but Maryland farm families may still have to consider Maryland estate taxes as part of their estate plans. For 2018, Maryland estates valued at more than $4 million will be re-quired to pay the state’s estate tax. In 2019, howev-er, Maryland’s estate tax will change to follow federal law. Unless Maryland’s law changes this year, Maryland farm fam-ilies will most likely be able to avoid concerns about state estate taxes beginning in 2019. There are several other changes in the new federal tax law beyond what this post has discussed. Other topics you may want to discuss with your legal or financial professional in-clude how the new federal tax law will change farm equip-ment depreciation and the time period for carrying back net operating losses to earn a tax rebate for previous tax years. Also, if you are considering changing or creating a business entity for your farm operation, the new federal tax law changes for “pass-through” business entities like S-

corporation, partnerships, and some LLCs should also be dis-cussed with an attorney or account because there are new tax rates and a new deduction that could potentially be a fi-nancial benefit for your farm business. Farmers should also note that some of the new federal tax law provisions expire in 2026, and should seek advice from their legal and financial professionals on creating the best business plan for before and after 2026, if federal law does not change again before then. An attorney or accountant might also have additional recommendations related to the changes in federal tax policy that could benefit your farm operation.

The University of Maryland, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources programs are open to all and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, or national origin, marital status, genetic information, or political affiliation, or gender identity and expression. The Uni-versity of Maryland is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Equal Access Programs. La Universidad de Maryland es una institución con Igualdad de Oportunidades de Empleo y con Igualdad de Acceso a Programas.

Contact your local UME Agriculture Educator:

Cecil County ~ Doris Behnke at 410-996-5280 or dbehnke@umd.edu

Kent County ~ Nate Richards at 410-778-1661 or nrichard@umd.edu

Queen Anne’s County ~ Jennifer Rhodes at 410-758-0166 or jrhodes@umd.edu

NON-PROFIT ORG

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT NO. 46

CENTREVILLE, MD

University of Maryland Extension

Queen Anne’s County

505 Railroad Ave, Suite 4

Centreville, Maryland 21617

MidShore Maryland

6 sessions, 6:00 pm-9:00pm

February 21, 2018 - March 28, 2018

Chesapeake Culinary Center

512 Franklin Street, Denton, MD

Contact: sdill@umd.edu

410-822-1244

Register online at:

https://2018anniesproject.eventbrite.com

View AGENDA here