The NextGen Tax Credit Program is a program administered by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture that seeks to help beginning farmers and ranchers establish a longer-term relationship with existing farmers and ranchers.

By using a tax incentive, the NextGen program hopes to increase the odds of turning beginning farmers/rancher into established farmers/ranchers.

To qualify as a beginning farmer/rancher, you must be a resident of Nebraska for at least six months, have less than $175,000 in net worth, must have farmed/ranched for less than 10 of the last 15 years, and meet certain education/experience and labor requirements. Furthermore, the owner of the land must be an individual or business entity that is eligible to receive the tax credit.

Benefits for the beginning farmer include: a three-year lease instead of year-to-year, up to $500 tax credit reimbursement for a required financial management class, and the beginning farmer may apply for the Personal Property Tax Exemption.

Benefits for the owner include a tax credit of 10% of the value of the cash rent, or 15% of the value of the share crop rent.

For more information, please see our handout, or contact Karla Bahm at 800.446.4071 or email at karla.bahm@nebraska.gov

To apply, please visit http://www.nextgen.nebraska.gov/

 

 

 

You are welcome to attend a free workshop on business succession and estate planning for farm and ranch owners, families and beginners.   The workshop will be held in St. Paul, (February 23, 2017) at the St. Paul Civic Center.  The workshop runs from 10:00 am to 2:30 pm.  There is no charge for the workshop.  To register (and for questions) call the Rural Response Hotline at 1-800-464-0258.

The workshop is about farm and ranch business succession and family estate planning.  It will include a discussion of beginning farmer programs that can aid in succession planning.  The workshop should be useful for established farm and ranch owners, for their successors, and for beginners.  

Topics include:  stages of succession planning, contribution & compensation, balancing the interests of on-farm and off-farm heirs; the importance of communication, setting goals, assessing feasibility, and balancing intergenerational expectations and needs; beginning farmer loan and tax credit programs; the use of trusts, wills, life estate deeds and business entities (such as the limited liability company) in family estate and business succession planning;  legal tools for balancing the interests of successors and off-farm heirs; asset protection; taxation (federal transfer taxes, Nebraska inheritance tax, basis adjustment), and essential estate documents. 

 Joe Hawbaker, Agricultural Law attorney, with Hawbaker Law Office, Omaha

Dave Goeller, Deputy Director, Northeast Center for Risk Management Education, UNL

 This workshop is made possible by the Nebraska Network for Beginning Farmers & Ranchers, the Farm and Ranch Project of Legal Aid of Nebraska, USDA-FSA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s Next Gen, Nebraska Farmers Union Foundation, UNL Extension Howard Co, and a meal will be sponsored by Homestead Bank, Citizens Bank and Heritage Bank.

 Additional Location:  Beatrice, March 1^st 2017

You are welcome to attend a free workshop on federal and state programs that support beginning farmers and ranchers, and on some of the legal tools and issues that may affect beginners and their families. The workshop will be held in Curtis, NE on February 17, 2017 at NCTA in the auditorium.  The workshop runs from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.  There is no charge for the workshop.  To register (and for questions) call the Rural Response Hotline at 1-800-464-0258.

The workshop will cover beginning farmer loan programs, the Nebraska beginning farmer tax credit, understanding and using lease arrangements, Farm Service Agency livestock disaster programs and several transition and estate issues relevant to beginners.

Joe Hawbaker, Agricultural Law attorney, with Hawbaker Law Office, Omaha, NE

Amy Swoboda, Farm Law attorney, Legal Aid of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE

This workshop is made possible by the Nebraska Network for Beginning Farmers & Ranchers, the Farm and Ranch Project of Legal Aid of Nebraska, USDA-FSA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s Next Gen, Nebraska Farmers Union Foundation, and Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.

THE NEBRASKA BEGINNING FARMER & RANCHER NETWORK

Farm Succession Series

A Workshop on Farm and Ranch Business Succession & Estate Planning

You are welcome to attend a free workshop on business succession and estate planning for farm and ranch owners, families and beginners.   The workshops will be held throughout the state of Nebraska. The workshop times vary by location.  There is no charge for the workshop.  To register (and for questions) call the Rural Response Hotline at 1-800-464-0258.

The workshop is about farm and ranch business succession and family estate planning.  It will include a discussion of beginning farmer programs that can aid in succession planning.  The workshop should be useful for established farm and ranch owners, for their successors, and for beginners.   Topics include:  stages of succession planning, contribution & compensation, balancing the interests of on-farm and off-farm heirs; the importance of communication, setting goals, assessing feasibility, and balancing intergenerational expectations and needs; beginning farmer loan and tax credit programs; the use of trusts, wills, life estate deeds and business entities (such as the limited liability company) in family estate and business succession planning;  legal tools for balancing the interests of successors and off-farm heirs; asset protection; taxation (federal transfer taxes, Nebraska inheritance tax, basis adjustment), and essential estate documents.

 Joe Hawbaker, Agricultural Law attorney, with Hawbaker Law Office, Omaha

Dave Goeller, Deputy Director, Northeast Center for Risk Management Education, UNL

Locations: (more dates and locations will be released at a later date)

Greeley, NE – December 7, 2016

O’Neill, NE – December 8, 2016

York, NE – January 9, 2017

Bridgeport, NE – January 25, 2017

Chadron, NE – January 25, 2017 (evening)

This workshop is made possible by the Nebraska Network for Beginning Farmers & Ranchers, the Farm and Ranch Project of Legal Aid of Nebraska, USDA-Farm Service Agency, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s Next Gen, UNL Extension, and there will be a local meal sponsor at each location.

Free clinics are available through the Farm Mediation program and Legal Aid of Nebraska.   In these clinics, participants can get one-on-one advice from financial and legal professionals about farm transition and financial issues.  The dates for December 2016 are:

December 1- Fairbury

December 2- Grand Island

December 8- North Platte

December 9- Ainsworth

December 15- Lexington

December 16- Norfolk

Please call the Rural Response Hotline 1-800-464-0258 to register.