New Employee - Amy Baisden

Amy Baisden joined our Middlebury staff at the end of January as a Loan Documentation Specialist. Amy earned her Juris Doctor degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and most recently was a managing partner of a small law firm in South Burlington. For generations, her family raised beef cattle in Fayette County, WV. Amy is looking forward to turning her career toward supporting farmers and agricultural businesses.


Welcome to team Yankee Farm Credit!

FarmStart - Justin and Rachel Sauerwein

Justin and Rachel Sauerwein are a FarmStart investment with Yankee Farm Credit. The Sauerweins will be using their FarmStart investment to purchase feeder calves for their beef farming operation Almanack Farm in Chelsea, VT.

Justin is a graduate of the University of Illinois and is the farm’s primary manager. Rachel, Justin’s wife, is a graduate of the University of Chicago and provides secondary management along with managing the farm’s financial records and web based marketing. The Sauerweins raise grass fed beef on the beautiful rolling hills of their 70 acre farm. Currently their herd consists of nine animals but should grow to roughly twenty by the end of the year. Their animals are processed locally and distributed through a local wholesaler to various inns and restaurants throughout Central Vermont. The Sauerweins use this sales and distribution method to regulate their sales volume but are hoping to better utilize their farm’s website as their capacity increases. Yankee is excited to partner with Justin and Rachel as they build their herd and expand their capacity to meet the growing demand for locally produced grass fed beef throughout the association’s territory.

The goal of FarmStart is to provide working capital to help start-up farmers establish a positive business and credit history during the early phases of their careers. Within five years recipients should be able to graduate to a conventional line of credit from Yankee or another lender.

Important Changes to the Withholding Tax Laws

Our Payroll and Record Services department recently received the following notification from the Vermont Department of Taxes. If you require assistance with tax planning, payroll or record keeping services please contact you local Yankee Farm Credit office.


Chazy, NY  518-846-7330/800-545-8374
Derby, VT  802-334-8050/800-370-2738
Middlebury, VT  802-388-2692/800-545-1169
St. Albans, VT  802-524-2938/800-545-1097
White River Jct., VT  802-295-3670/800-370-3276

The Vermont Department of Taxes wants to make you aware of important changes to the withholding tax laws that may affect your business.

W-2 Due Date
Forms W-2, 1099, and WHT-434, Annual Withholding Reconciliation, are now due on or before January 31 of every year. This change moves the due date from February 28. The new January due date will greatly help the Department detect and stop fraudulent income tax filings, protect taxpayer dollars, and help to shorten the refund raeview process. It is important to note that the annual reconciliation filing in myVTax will not be available until early January of 2017.

Payment frequency law change
Vermont’s law regarding payment frequency has been updated to follow the federal rules. Your payment frequency (i.e., semi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly) for Vermont withholding should now be the same as your withholding payment frequency with the IRS. If your IRS filing frequency changes or the Department does not currently have you on the correct frequency, please notify us by mail or email.

If you have any questions regarding your account, please contact us at the number listed below during regular business hours.

Vermont Department of Taxes	Phone:   (802)828-2551
Taxpayer Services Division	Fax:       (802)828-5787
Business Tax Section	Email:    tax.business@vermont.gov

New 2017 Partnership Tax Return Deadline!

NEW TAX CHANGE FOR THIS YEAR!! The partnership 1065 tax return for the 2016 tax year is now due on March 15^th for 2017 and beyond.  The deadline previously was April 15^th.  The deadline has been changed to allow partnerships ample time to disseminate the schedule K-1 information form to their partners in a timely fashion. The schedule K-1 form reports the partner’s share of the partnership’s income, deductions and credits.  Partnerships must have the Schedule K-1’s to the partners on March 15^th.  That gives the partners of partnerships ample time in which to prepare their tax returns by April 15^th when individual tax returns are due. Additionally Vermont partnerships must submit the annual entity fee of $250 by the March 15th advanced deadline.

This change was signed into law in the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015.  The new due dates create a more logical progression of information to aide taxpayers and tax professionals in filing timely and accurate returns.  Prior to this change many taxpayers estimated the K1 information in order to file their return, which generally resulted in the need to file an amended return, or prepared their individual tax return on extension. This also advances the extensions deadline for partnerships up one month from October 15^th to September 15^th for each year. It is important that partnerships gather their financial information as early as possible to meet this new deadline.  

For additional information or clarification please contact any Financial Service Representative here at Yankee Farm Credit, ACA or your tax advisor. 

Commemorative Flag in recognition of 100 Years

Yankee Farm Credit was honored with a ceremonial United States Flag as a commemorative gift in recognition of Farm Credit's 100 years of agricultural lending services. On July 17th 2016, the Farm Credit System's 100 year anniversary, the flag was flown over the Capital Building in Washington D.C. Included with the gift was a letter from President Obama. In which he commented: "Our Nation depends on our farmers, ranchers, and the people of our rural communities to help Americans put healthy food on their tables and to contribute to growing a more vibrant national economy. Established to improve the lives of these hardworking individuals, the FCS has long served the women and men of rural America. By Providing loans and financial services to farmers and communities through its network of cooperatives, the FCS plays an integral role in local economies across the United States."

Yankee Farm Credit is proud to continue in its mission of agricultural lending and financial services for the next 100 years.

Our Mission

At Yankee, we strive to make a positive difference serving the agricultural community by offering reliable, cost-effective services and assuring cooperative viability.

Our Vision

Building Relationships that Last Generations

Yankee will be the financial services leader of choice in the agricultural community.

We provide members with:

-Readily available capital

-Competitive interest rates and services

-Employees who embody our values

Our Values

Integrity

Relationships

Competence

Entrepreneurship

Local Farm Credit directors meet with Congresswoman Ann M. Kuster

From left: Gov. Lynch, Congresswoman Kuster, Steve Taylor, Henry Huntington

New Hampshire Second District Congresswoman Ann M. Kuster recently met with two Farm Credit board members from her district during a timeout from campaign activities in Concord, N.H. Former New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch joined the conversation and both expressed their continuing support for Farm Credit service to agriculture and forestry in the Granite State. From left are: Gov. Lynch; Congresswoman Kuster, Steve Taylor of Meriden, a director of Yankee Farm Credit, which serves the western and northern areas of the state; and Henry Huntington of Loudon, a director of Farm Credit East, which covers the six southeastern counties of New Hampshire.

Yankeeaca.com

Farmcrediteast.com

http://kuster.house.gov/

New Due Date for 2016 Forms W-2 and 1099

A reminder from our Financial Records and Payroll Services department.

Effective January 1, 2017, electronic Forms W-2, W-3, 1099 and 1096 are due to the IRS by January 31, 2017!

Previously, electronically filing extended the due date to March 31^st. The new January 31^st deadline now matches the due date for paper filed versions of the forms.
So, what does this mean for you?
Wage reconciliation and 1099 reporting information (Forms W-4 and W-9) must be obtained before year end to meet the new deadline.
And how do you prepare?
Put your ducks in a row now before it’s too late by regularly reconciling your records and payroll.
A few tips to help accomplish this:

• Obtain Form W-9 from 1099 vendors before you pay them.
• Keep a record of all payments made to employees and 1099 vendors.
• Keep a log of all tax payments made throughout the year.
• Adopt an accounting program, such as QuickBooks or CenterPoint, to compile all your business activities in one place and produce tax ready reports.

Yankee also offers records and payroll services. Service options are tailored to your needs. Whether it’s at your place of business or in our office, staff is here to help!
Contact your local office for details.

Q3 Financial Results

As we enter the home-stretch of 2016, Yankee can announce that we had another good quarter.

Our year-to-date income at the end of the third quarter was $7.5 million.  While this is down $809 thousand from the same time last year, we are well within our budget for 2016.

Some factors for this reduction include an increase of $1.1 million in the Provision for Credit Losses, primarily due to the increase seen in loan volume since last year, and an increase of $856 thousand in operating expenses.  These adverse factors were partially offset by an increase of $996 thousand in net interest income and an increase of $200 thousand in other income.

Loans held by the Association at September 30, 2016 were $462.1 million, up 2.9 percent from the end of 2015. The loan portfolio continues to be concentrated in the dairy industry, with 49 percent of loans held invested in dairy businesses.  The second largest concentration is timber with 14 percent of loans held, with maple being the third largest concentration with 11 percent.

Credit quality across Yankee's portfolio remained stable during the quarter and well within the risk-bearing capacity of the Association. At quarter end, 0.3 percent of the Association's loans were classified as nonperforming.  This ratio was slightly better than it was at the end of 2015.  There were no loan charge-offs or recoveries during the quarter.  The Association's capital position remains strong.

Click here for the full quarterly Report to Shareholders and here for the quarterly financial news release.

New Employee - Tess Adone

Tess Adone was hired in October as the Executive Assistant to CEO and President-elect Brenda Frank and also will be supporting the Board of Directors and senior management team. Tess is entering her ninth year of progressive experience as an executive assistant and has worked in the academic, non-profit, and state government sectors. A long-time resident of Vermont, Tess received her M.A. in English from the University of Vermont.

FarmStart- Andrew and Elizabeth Nolan

Andrew and Elizabeth Nolan are a 2016 FarmStart investment for Yankee Farm Credit, working with Loan Officer Kyle Lussier. They are using their FarmStart investment for initial working capital to help assist in the purchase of an existing dairy farm and operate as Nolan Family Farm, LLC.


Andy has a degree in Dairy Farm Management Technology from Vermont Technical College, and Elizabeth is a Registered Nurse. After graduating, Andy became the herdsman for Nor-Dic Farm in Panton, VT where his father was an employee for many years and Andy spent much time growing up. As the previous owner of Nor-Dic Farm was looking to retire, but wanted to keep the farm going Andy and Elizabeth saw an opportunity to start Nolan Family Farm.


Nolan Family Farm will be shipping milk to Agri-Mark and milking 200 cows. Andy has been strategic in his downsizing from the former operation of milking 600 cows to help make the transition more viable. They have a lease agreement for the property, plans in place for purchasing equipment, budget planning strategies with help from Yankee’s Liz Bayne and support from the previous owner to aid in their transition to business owners.


Yankee Farm Credit is excited to partner with the Nolan’s in their new business endeavor.