Tax Tips for Farmers: The Case for NOT Prepaying Expenses

Here's a piece I wrote for the Corn & Soybean Digest:

It’s standard practice for farmers, who are cash basis taxpayers, to accelerate expenses at year-end. Paying fertilizer, seed, and chemical bills prior to Dec. 31 can create a paper loss and reduce your current year taxable income to near zero or below. The sister practice is to defer income into the following year by holding a portion of your corn and soybean crop to be sold after Jan. 1.

Follow the link here to read the rest of Tax Tips for Farmers: The Case for NOT Prepaying Expenses

Effort Does Not Equal Value

I was watching Shark Tank yesterday and it struck me how often people over-value their effort.  Many people seem to think that the harder they work, the more their business is worth.

One woman in particular, had not received any offers from the Sharks – all five were out.  Then she welled up in tears and between sobs tried to explain how hard she’s worked over the past four years to bring her product to this point.

Watching this, I wanted to jump through my television screen and explain to this woman that how hard she worked was irrelevant.  Here’s why I believe this: