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DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 19, No. 23
Tax code may benet farmers but revisions necessary By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
RINGLE, Wis. – When President Trump signed the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) into law Dec. 22, 2017, it became the most comprehensive overhaul to the United State’s tax code in more than 30 years. With that, businesses large and small sought how their tax portfolio would change – and the dairy industry was no exception. “It’s hard to speculate right now how this could all work; each farm will be affected differently,” James Juedes said. Juedes and his wife, Joanne, milk 60 cows 10 miles east of Wausau, Wis., in Marathon County. The farm is operated as a sole proprietorship. As the law is further developed and understood, Juedes has worked with his accountant to envision how the changes will reect in his dairy business. Of the individual and business changes noted in the tax reform, the most notable for the dairy sector include: Personal property is no longer eligible in a Section 1031 exchange; Section 179 increased to $1 million and a $2.5 million threshold for purchases; Accelerated depreciation increased to 100 percent on new and used property; a seven-year class life on new farming assets was shortened to ve years; Corporation rate is set at 21 percent; and DPAD was repealed and replaced with a 20 percent deduction on Qualied Business Income. “The tax package will ultimately result in lower taxes for farmers,” said Amber Hanson-Glaeser of Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation. “There’s a lot of good things Turn to TAX | Page 5
January 27, 2018
“It was a bad situation made bearable by all the people who showed up to help.” – Tim Dettmann
Dettmanns suffer parlor re
Over 500 cows relocated to two area farms By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
JOHNSON CREEK, Wis. – As the clock struck 3 a.m. on Jan. 13, the morning shift workers at Dettmann Dairy Farm discovered the beginnings of a re on the familyo w n e d d a i r y farm near Johnson Creek, Wis. T i m Tim Dettmann and Amy Dettmann Dairy Dettmann own and operate the Jefferson County farm with Tim’s son, Mike, and his wife, Sue, in
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
De�man Dairy Farm is recovering a�er a re Jan. 13 near Johnson Creek, Wis. The re began in a dryer, located in what was a kitchen and office area next to the parlor on the 520-cow farm. two LLC’s; one for the dairy operation and a second for the farmland. Amy’s son, Brett, also works on the farm. The re, which had started
in the dryer used to dry milking towels, had spread to an ofce and kitchen area located off the side of the parlor where the Dettmanns milk their
520 cows. Fortunately, the re began before cows were moved into the holding area Turn to DETTMANN | Page 6
Dairying dream brings Briggs family from Massachusetts to Wisconsin
Grazing, lasting cows and self-processing are future goals By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
STRATFORD, Wis. – Growing up on a registered Jersey dairy farm in Medway, Mass., Jim Briggs always knew he wanted to be a dairy farmer. He also knew that it probably was not going to happen on his family’s farm that was located a mere 25 miles southwest of Boston. Briggs’ journey eventually led him to Stratford, Wis., in 2014, where he now milks 45 cows with his wife, Jenny, and son, Justin, 14. The herd is primarily Jerseys, with the exception of Justin’s Holstein show cow and her new daughter. “Today, all the dairies in eastern Massachusetts are basically gone,” said Briggs of his hometown. “We processed and bottled our own milk, and it was a Turn to BRIGGS | Page 10
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Jim Briggs enjoys working with Jerseys and found them to be the best t for the dairy herd he and his family have established in central Wisconsin. The Briggs family milks 45 cows near Stra�ord, Wis.