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Revamped Beginning Farmer Program will help many young producersNebraska Nebraska's newly improved Beginning Farmer Program will give many young farmers and ranchers a better chance of being successful in agriculture, one young farmer said Sept. 10 at a news conference at Husker Harvest Days hosted by Gov. Heineman and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. Hilary Maricle, 30, of St. Edward said changes to the program adopted in LB 1027 this spring will be very helpful to beginning farmers who have few resources to bring to the capital-intensive business of agriculture. "As a beginning farmer myself, I can personally attest to the difficulty in finding land, securing operating capital, and purchasing affordable equipment," she said. Maricle and her husband Brian have a diversified crop and livestock operation. Hilary Maricle is the youth at-large board member of Nebraska Farm Bureau and the couple chairs Farm Bureau's Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee. LB 1027 provides a three-year, personal property tax exemption on agriculture machinery to qualified beginning farmers, which could be equivalent to $100,000 in value each year. It makes absentee landowners eligible to receive tax credits when they rent land to a qualified beginning farmer, and it allows relatives to participate in the Beginning Farmer Program if they have a legally binding succession plan. The legislature's Agriculture Committee, Chair Phil Erdman and State Sen. Tony Fulton spearheaded passage of the legislation. "The broadening of the program to include the personal property tax exemption targeted to beginning farmers is a much-needed change. It would allow us to put money back into the operation for things such as improvements and purchases," Maricle said. She also praised the provision making absentee landowners eligible for the program, because they own roughly 50 percent of Nebraska's farmland. Allowing related persons to participate in the program will encourage families to develop succession plans that will smooth the transfer of farm and ranch property to the next generation, she said. Farm Bureau's young farmers and ranchers--members 35 and younger--have identified the development of succession plans as a key issue for their business planning, she said. Persons interested in qualifying as a beginning farmer or rancher or as an agricultural asset owner eligible to receive the tax credit must make application to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, the department's Bobbie Kriz-Wickham said Sept. 8. To claim an agricultural personal property tax exemption for the 2009 tax year, individuals must contact NDA before Nov. 1 . Sign up for the Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program is continuous. 9/22/08 Date: 9/17/08 Advertisement
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