Economics Commons^™

Alternatives To High Nebraska Agricultural Land Real Estate Taxes, Part 2 Of 2: Like-Kind Exchange, Austin Duerfeldt

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

In part one of this series of articles, I touched on the idea that, when holding land as an investment, considering alternatives is important. We discussed the process of selling the ground, paying the capital gains and then investing in alternatives such as stocks. Here in part two, we will continue to consider the question of agricultural land being the correct investment for your portfolio but will take a different alternative approach. Now, we will look at like-kind exchanges.

1031 Like-Kind Exchange

With a 1031 like-kind exchange, we are taking a real property asset and exchanging it for another real …

Advanced Health Care Directives In Nebraska: Health Care Power Of Attorney And Living Wills, J. David Aiken

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

First paragraph:

During this period of coronavirus pandemic, some Nebraskans may be concerned about how medical decisions will be made for them if they are unable to communicate their wishes to their health care providers themselves. In these circumstances, health care providers will normally consult with the patient’s family members who may be available (spouse, then adult children–consensus, then parents, etc.) If no family members are present, the health care providers will use their best medical judgment in making health care decisions for the patient.

Disclaimer

This information is intended for educational purposes only; it must not be taken as …

North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, Christine Lockert, Bradley D. Lubben

Cornhusker Economics

Managing through the current economic challenges and accumulating shocks in ag sector will be a major challenge for farmers and ranchers. Educating producers to manage these risks and position their farm or ranch for future growth and success is the fundamental purpose of the Extension Risk Management Education (ERME) program.

Accounting For Ag: Step Up While Passing Down, Austin Duerfeldt

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

Summary

Through this article, I hope you’ve gained a better understanding of the basics of a step up in basis. A step up in basis can be viewed as an opportune time to sell long held farm ground that appreciated in value, with little to no capital gain issues. It plays a vital role in estate planning. In the individual case of each farmer/rancher, how the step up in basis might work for your operation varies on many specific circumstances. Developing an estate planning team that includes professionals such as an attorney and accountant, as well as, investment and insurance …

Alternatives To High Nebraska Agricultural Land Real Estate Taxes, Part 1 Of 2: Capital Gains And Alternative Investments, Austin Duerfeldt

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

First paragraph

In Nebraska, most of my conversations about managing agricultural properties, whether rental or production, tend to steer toward real estate taxes at some point. While many counties in Nebraska have seen agricultural land taxes drop slightly since the 2015-2017 period, they are still a significant portion of operational expense. For example, dryland acres in Southeast Nebraska ballpark around $60 an acre. For someone looking to cash rent inherited ground, this becomes a major point of concern when looking for a tenant. If that ground cash rents for $190 an acre, and $60 an acre goes towards real estate …

Nebraska National Agri-Marketing Association And The Covid-19 Effect, Austin Harthoorn, Rosalee A. Swartz

Cornhusker Economics

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) student organization is one of more than 30 student chapters across the U.S. and Canada. The objective of the student NAMA on campus is to learn first-hand about the many career opportunities in agri-marketing from professionals in marketing, advertising, communications, promotion, sales, and public relations. As chapter members, students develop valuable personal contacts and working relations with agri-marketing professionals and have meaningful opportunities to develop and practice their managerial skills and leadership abilities.

The Nebraska Economy Responds To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Eric Thompson

Business in Nebraska

The Nebraska economy will contract in 2020 but the rate of decline will not be as rapid as nationwide. The economic structure of Nebraska is more focused on production and transportation than the national economy and less focused on hard-hit industries such as hospitality, entertainment, automobile parts and assembly, and oil production. Nebraska also may benefit from a higher quality workforce, which is better able to adapt to changing economic conditions.

Employment will drop by 2.4% in Nebraska in 2020, much less than the national rate of decline. Employment will rebound by 2.0% in 2021 and 1.4% in 2022. With …

Grain Marketing 2020: Survival And Covid-19, Robert Tigner, Jessica J. Groskopf

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

First paragraph:

Let’s state the obvious: this isn’t a typical year and we all know it. For farmers, it is a survival year. Why? And what might be done to make it through to the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic? This article will discuss how to build a marketing strategy to assure that the farm continues to the next crop year.

Conclusion

This year is shaping up to be a survival year for crop producers. Crop producers need to know at what crop price they will recapture all of the cash they will spend this year. Implementing a marketing …

Has Covid-19 Impacted Price-Weight Relationships And Value Of Gain?, Elliott James Dennis

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

First paragraph:

In the beginning of COVID-19, much of the attention was focused on managing the redirection of meat product from food service to retail stores. This past month has keenly focused on packing plant closures due to COVID-19 cases among workers and how to manage the supply of fat cattle already ready for slaughter. Fat cattle available for slaughter either cannot get bids or bids are significantly below breakeven prices leaving feedlots with decisions to be made about marketing and placements. The April 2020 Cattle on Feed report (https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/m326m174z) revealed March placement decisions. Placements were down about …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: April 29, 2020, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The LEI-N fell by 7.96% during March of 2020 as the COVID-19 Pandemic impacted Nebraska’s economy. The leading indicator primarily fell due to a spike in initial claims for unemployment insurance and a sharp drop in the airline passenger enplanements during March. Other components of the leading indicator also were impacted, given a decline in both building permits for single-family homes and manufacturing hours-worked. There also was a sharp increase in the value of the U.S. dollar during March, which creates additional challenges for both agriculture and manufacturing businesses. The decline in the leading indicator suggests that the Nebraska economy …

Economic Impacts Of Food Fraud, Syed Imran Ali Meerza, Konstantinos Giannakas, Amalia Yiannaka

Cornhusker Economics

When you order seafood at a restaurant, do you get what you pay for? Scientists from Oceana, a non-profit marine conservation organization, conducted one of the largest seafood fraud investigations on 1,215 samples from 674 outlets in 21 states of the United States (U.S.) over the period 2010 to 2012.They found that there is, on average, a 33% probability that you do not actually get what you pay for. The share of mislabeled food was (a quite remarkable) 74% for seafood sold in sushi restaurants and 18% of seafood sold in gro-cery stores with mislabeled “red snapper” and “tuna” accounting …

Live Cattle Basis Due To Covid-19: Deviations And Convergence, Elliott James Dennis

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

A Fundamental Review on Basis

Basis is defined as the cash minus futures. Cash market reflects today's supply conditions and price. Futures market reflects upcoming supply and demand conditions. If it is anticipated that there will be a period of increasing supplies, futures prices will decline to reflect that information. Likewise, periods of time with expected decreasing supplies, future prices are expected to increase.

Since cash and futures prices can move simultaneously, basis will fluctuate through time. In periods where basis becomes more positive (i.e. basis is said to be strengthening/narrowing) it implies that cash prices are increasing more relative …

Assumptions (Mistakes) That Parents Make With Estate Plans, Allan Vyhnalek

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

Excerpt:

The main take-home message should be that the parents: 1) have a plan and continue to revise that plan from time to time and 2) be sure to think through the unintended consequences of your plan. Hopefully, some of the common assumptions mentioned here can be put into place so that the family does stay together for decades to come.

This is not an exhaustive list of assumptions that can go awry. It is being presented as a place for family thought and discussion to start. For more information go to: http://agecon.unl.edu/succession. There are other articles and video …

Pre Covid-19 Market Conditions Persist & The Stocker Industry Can Dampen The Damage, Elliott James Dennis

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

First paragraph:

The effects of COVID-19 on the livestock market are well known and felt. Some effects include depressed futures and cash prices, unusual basis patterns, decreased packer bids and sale barn volume, packing plant closures, consumer hording of meat products, and shifting food service products for retail consumption. All these effects occurred as market participants grappled with everchanging government and industry policy which reduced consumer demand and resulted in bottlenecks and increasing supply gluts upstream. Simultaneously reducing demand and increasing supply always cause prices to plummet, and in the case of COVID-19 very rapidly. Some segments of the market …

Some Economic Implications Of The Covid-19 Pandemic In Nebraska, John C. Beghin

Cornhusker Economics

It is now clear that the spread, mortality and morbidity impacts of the coronavirus pandemic are sizeable but extremely heterogeneous across multiple dimensions. Geography shows that places with lower human con-centrations (urban/rural divide) and away from main travel axes, such as major interstate highways and in-ternational airports, have a lower incidence of cases. Large urban centers with high human concentrations have been much disproportionally affected and with much higher mortality rates. Age and health status are equally important. Mortality increases dramatically for people 60 years old and older. People with comorbidi-ties (cardiovascular, obesity, diabetes, and others) are much more likely …

Cares Act 2020: Unemployment Insurance And Farmer/Ranchers, Robert Tigner

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

First paragraph:

Generally, unemployment insurance across the country is managed by state government. Each has different rules, with oversight by the US Department of Labor. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act made changes to the unemployment coverage for workers and appropriated funds for the changes. The act tasked the Labor Department with writing rules for the changes and it has issued an Unemployment Insurance Letter — UL No. 16-20 — that begins the rulemaking process. This guidance will then be used by Nebraska to implement the CARES Act. This article reviews what is known now with …

Covid-19, Farm Survival And Decision Making, Cory Walters, Jessica Groskopf, Richard Preston

Cornhusker Economics

COVID-19 is causing us to experience events that have always been possible, just not yet observed. For farmers these events may have a big negative financial impact, or they may not. The impact on each individual farm has to do with how that individual farm has prepared for rare financially devastating events. Preparing for unseen events represents a logical approach. We call this approach stress testing. Just because you have not seen an event, it does not mean it does not exist. Or said another way, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. In this article, we discuss how …

2020 Cares Act – Financial Supports For Small Business, Marilyn R. Schlake

Cornhusker Economics

Whether a business is impacted by weather-related disasters, road construction or sudden economic downturns, having a plan to mitigate the impacts can be crucial to the immediate and long-term survival of the business. Unforeseen circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may require owners to re-evaluate their business models, cut operating costs and seek outside financial supports – all to keep cash flowing and the business open. To help small businesses during the pandemic, the Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27. It contains $349 billion in relief for American small businesses and …

2020 Cares Act – Apoyo Financiero Para Pequeñas Empresas, Marilyn R. Schlake, Sandra Barrera

Cornhusker Economics

Ya sea que un negocio se vea afectado por desastres relacionados con el clima, la construcción de carreteras o las recesiones económicas repentinas, tener un plan para mitigar los impactos puede ser crucial para la supervivencia inmediata y a largo plazo del negocio. Circunstancias imprevistas, como la pandemia de COVID-19, pueden requerir que los propietarios reevalúen sus modelos de negocios, reduzcan los costos operativos y busquen apoyos financieros externos, todo para mantener el flujo de efectivo y abrir el negocio. Para ayudar a las pequeñas empresas durante la pandemia, el 27 de marzo se promulgó la Ley de Ayuda y …

The Evolution Of Work In The United States, Enghin Atalay, Phai Phongthiengtham, Sebastian Sotelo, Daniel Tannenbaum

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

Using the text from job ads, we introduce a new dataset to describe the evolution of work from 1950 to 2000. We show that the transformation of the US labor market away from routine cognitive and manual tasks and toward nonroutine interactive and analytic tasks has been larger than prior research has found, with a substantial fraction of total changes occurring within narrowly defined job titles. We provide narrative and systematic evidence on changes in task content within job titles and on the emergence and disappearance of individual job titles. (JEL E24, J21, J24, J31, N32)

Examining The Role Of The Crop Insurance Selling Agent, Nathan Delay, Hayley Chouinard, Cory Walters, Philip Wandschneider

Cornhusker Economics

The United States Department of Agriculture, Risk Management Agency (RMA) partners with private insurance companies to deliver the federal crop insurance program through agents who sell policies directly to producers. The government subsidizes producers in the form of premium discounts and reimburses private insurance companies for administrative and operating (A&O) costs. The government provides further assistance to the industry by offering a cooperative reinsurance agreement that reduces loss exposure for insurance companies (Appel and Borba, 2009).

Subsidization of private market players may facilitate rent-seeking behavior—efforts to capture larger shares of tax dollars devoted to the program— especially in the settings …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: March 31, 2020, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) 1 report for this month reflects data from February 2020, a period before the Covid-19 Pandemic began to have a very significant impact on the U.S. economy. As a result, the outlook provided by the leading indicator will not capture the decline in economic activity that occurred beginning in March 2020. Nonetheless, the LEI-N report is presented here to provide information about where the Nebraska economy was headed before the current health crisis. The LEI-N fell by 0.19% during February of 2020. The modest decrease in the LEI-N, which is designed to predict …

Nebraska Women In Agriculture Celebrating 35 Years, Jessica Groskopf

Cornhusker Economics

A crowd of almost 300 gathered together February 20 and 21 in Kearney, Nebraska for the Nebraska Women in Agriculture conference, with the theme — Celebrating 35 Years! The conference is one of the longest-running women's conferences of its kind in the country. The goal of the Nebraska Women in Agriculture Conference is for women to build relationships with each other while gaining valuable knowledge about managing risk on their farms and ranches. The event featured 5 general session speakers and 35 workshop sessions.

An Empirical Analysis Of Individual Events In Collegiate Forensics, Jordan Duffin Wong

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Anecdotally, it is a widely accepted notion in the United States’ collegiate competitive speech and debate community that a competitor’s strong record of competitive performance in the activity at the high school level is a powerful predictor of similar success in the activity at the collegiate level. However, no evidence has been brought to bear supporting this claim. This paper uses the universe of American Forensic Association National Individual Events Tournament results from 2013 to 2018 and links collegiate competitors to their respective high school performance data. I demonstrate evidence that high school experience does, in fact, appear to play …

Nebraska Cooperative Development Center Announces Mini-Grant Funding, Charlotte Narjes

Cornhusker Economics

Since 1999, the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center (NCDC) has provided technical assistance, education and training to groups who are developing or are considering the development of a cooperatively owned business. The primary objective is to improve the economic condition of rural areas through cooperative business development.

Justice In Exchange: The Difficulty Of Establishing Commensurability In Aristotle’S Nichomachean Ethics, Asher Hilton

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

In Chapter 5 of Book V of the Nichomachean Ethics, an analysis of justice in exchange leads Aristotle to conclude that differing things can only be made commensurate in a practical sense. The passage sets up a relationship between association, exchange, equality, and commensurability in market exchange and leaves Aristotle with differing notions of commensurability. Aristotle considers demand (a need for resources) to be a means of resolving the tension; however, this possibility is subject to objections. Aristotle’s analysis of association for exchange is problematic, as is his exchange-equality relationship; examples from economic game theory illustrate the objections to …

An Inquiry Into Double Dividend Effects Of Carbon Taxes, Gregory Tracey

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

For my undergraduate thesis, I conducted research on the topic of carbon taxes. Specifically, I was interested in the possible existence of a double dividend effect as a method for making this public policy option more palatable to a broader audience. To that end, I first conducted a literature review on the subject, then did an empirical analysis. I chose Nebraska as the subject of my analysis because it is my home state and I experienced heated debates over tax policy firsthand as a Page for the State Legislature. To see whether a double dividend would exist in Nebraska, I …

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Values Improve Despite Uncertainty In 2020, Jim Jansen, Jeffrey Stokes

Cornhusker Economics

The market value of agricultural land in Nebraska increased by three percent over the prior year to an average of $2,730 per acre according to the 2020 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey (Figure 1 and Table 1). This improvement provides the first increase in the market value of agricultural land in Nebraska since peaking in 2014 at $3,315 per acre followed by a 20 per- cent decline extending to 2019.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Agricultural Economics annually surveys land industry professionals across Nebraska including appraisers, farm and ranch managers, and agricultural bankers. Results from the survey are …

Safety First Risk Preferences And Post-Harvest Grain Marketing A Context-Rich Lab Experiment, Stamatina Stamatina, Simanti Banerjee, Cory Walters

Cornhusker Economics

Improving our understanding of the influence of risk- preferences on decision making represents an important objective for understanding behavior, designing policy and decision making theory. A natural place this problem persists is in the marketing of grain (Kastens and Dhuyvetter, 1999). Grain marketing research has primarily focused on the use of different marketing techniques that result in lower price risk and, therefore, lower-income risk (Musser, Patrick, Eckman, 1996). However, the extent to which the theoretical findings from these studies are relevant to real-world applications is not clear (Brorsen and Irwin, 1996; Garcia and Leuthold, 2004). While reducing income risk is …

Integration Of And Deliveries Among The World Zionist Organization, Israel, And Diaspora Countries: System Articulation With The Social Fabric Matrix, F. Gregory Hayden

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

The religious economics (not economics of religion) concern here is the relationship between the World Zionist Organization (WZO) and Israel, which is known as a geopolitical power in its region and which is also known as an economic success story. Joseph Schumpeter and Karl Polanyi explained how the political economy of medieval Europe was influenced and guided by Christian morality. This paper extends the analysis of religious economics by using the social fabric matrix of original institutional economics to define and structure the integration of the WZO, Israel, and the Diaspora countries. This allows us to observe how to conduct …