Meet Yankee's Newest Certified General Appraiser-Nate Goddard

Nate Goddard, out of Yankee’s St. Albans, VT office, has been granted a Certified General Appraiser license by the Vermont Board of Real Estate Appraisers, allowing him to appraise all types of real property.  Nate was hired as an Appraiser Trainee in 2013.

The process of obtaining a certified general license is lengthy and extensive, requiring about three years of designated study, testing and supervised practical experience. Each course taken to meet the requirements has a test and there is one BIG test at the end.  The field experience requires supervision and guidance from an experienced Certified General Appraiser and several appraisal reports are selected by the Board for review prior to issuing a license. While this process is long and rigorous it does produce well trained appraisers which is a definite advantage for the appraiser, for the profession and for Yankee.

Nate grew up on a dairy farm in Orwell, VT.  He got his BA from University of Vermont and continues to live in the Burlington area.  Nate has excellent dairy industry knowledge and is capable of handling the valuation of the largest and most complex dairies in the region.  He has also developed a high level of knowledge in the maple industry.  We congratulate Nate for his accomplishment and wish him every success in his career.  We’re proud Nate is part of Yankee’s appraisal team!

2016 Tax Planning

-a reminder from the tax staff at Yankee

I’m sure that tax planning is the last thing on the minds of most dairy farmers this year, however, while many farms have struggled with low milk prices recently, it is important to remember that if you are making regular debt payments those payments are creating taxable income as the principal portion is not deductible. In addition, if your payables have increased significantly from 2015 you are going to have less ordinary expenses available to offset your income in 2016. Even if you haven’t had a profitable year, tax planning can still be a beneficial exercise. For example; if you have funds sitting in a traditional IRA account you may be able to convert some or all of that IRA to a Roth IRA and pay little or no tax. The benefit to this is that after 5 years the principal and earnings from the Roth can be withdrawn tax free. Another item to consider is harvesting winners and losers from your portfolio to take advantage of the 0% Capital Gain rate for taxpayers in the 15% tax bracket. It’s a good way to free up some tax free cash.

For 2016 the $500,000 Section 179 deduction and 50% bonus depreciation are both available. Both these items have limits and phase outs, consult your tax specialist if you are considering using them.

While both Section 179 and 50% Bonus Depreciation can be useful tools for managing your Federal tax liability, most states are not allowing bonus depreciation and not every state’s section 179 limit has been increased to match the Federal limit.

Prepaying expenses is one of the most common tax management practices that we see; it is also an area that is receiving increased scrutiny from the IRS during audits. So here is a quick review of the rules for prepaid expenses. There are three conditions which must be met in order for a cash basis taxpayer to claim a deduction in the year the prepayment is made.

 

1. The expenditure must be a payment for a supply and not merely a deposit. (You need to have an invoice clearly stating the quantity purchased and the price, delivery before the end of the year is not required.)
2. The prepayment must be made for a valid business purpose and not merely to accelerate a tax deduction. (Some examples of valid business purposes include but are not limited to: ensuring the availability of the supply item or locking in a guaranteed price.)
3. The deduction must not result in a material distortion of income.

In addition you need to be aware that there is a 50% rule that limits the deduction for prepaid expenses to 50% of deductible farm expenses unless you are a “qualified farm-related taxpayer”.

Please contact your Farm Credit Tax Specialist if you have any questions or if you wish to schedule a tax planning meeting.

New Employee - Dan Shepard

Dan Shepard joins our Williston office (though he will be a frequent guest in Middlebury) as Controller on October 17, 2016. Dan has provided financial and accounting services to private companies for the past 6 years at Gallagher, Flynn and Company, LLP in South Burlington VT. He has worked with closely held, venture capital and private equity owned companies in a broad range of industries from breweries, manufacturing, and hospitality to non-for-profit and cooperative organizations.   

Dan sits on the Board of Directors for Special Services Transportation Agency, Inc., based in Colchester, VT. He currently serves as Treasurer and is a member of the Executive committee and Finance committee. SSTA’s mission is to provide accessible transportation for people who have specialized mobility needs.  He is also member on the Board of Directors for HOPE. Works Inc., based in Burlington, VT and serves the Chittenden County community. HOPE Works provides crisis counseling and advocacy for those whose lives have been affected by sexual violence.

He graduated from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy and Business and grew up just south of Lake George, NY.

Dan is an avid motorcyclist. He has toured much of the Northeast and Canadian Maritime on two wheels and a tent (current bike is a Honda Africa Twin) and has hundreds of pictures and videos to share; and is up for discussion all things internal combustion engine anytime. Additional he loves to race sailboats, golf, ride dirt bikes (drz400e), and hike.

Dan is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Vermont Society of CPAs . In addition to his CPA license he also holds the Charted Global Management Accountant designations from the AICPA and is a member of the CGMA society.

Welcome to the Yankee Farm Credit Team!

New Director - Ken Deon

On August 12, 2016 Kenneth F. Deon was appointed by the board to serve as an outside director. He grew up in Plattsburgh, NY and graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh.  He is a retired CPA who worked for KPMG for most of his career. He was the managing partner of the KPMG office in Burlington, VT from 2004 to 2007 and the Albany, NY office from 2007 to 2015.  Mr. Deon has more than 30 years of experience in providing audit and advisory services to clients in a number of industries.  He has a thorough understanding of industry operations, processes and controls, as well as knowledge of technical accounting issues such as business combinations, regulatory accounting and financial reporting.  His audit experience includes IPO/SEC experience, including Sarbanes-Oxley regulatory requirements. Through the years he has been involved in a number of professional and civic organizations.  He has served as an Adjunct Professor in Accounting at Union Graduate School and at Saint Michael’s College.  Mr. Deon retired from KPMG in 2015 and currently lives in Greer, South Carolina.


We are pleased to welcome Ken to the Yankee Farm Credit Team!

New Employee - Kevin Channell

Kevin Channell joined the White River Junction credit team as a Loan Officer on September 26th.  For the past four years Kevin has performed farm consulting in Indiana and New England while developing and operating a small-scale diversified community farm.  Prior to that he established a 28-acre organic produce farm in Fairlee near Dartmouth College, managing all aspects and after nine years sold the successful operation which is still operating profitably.  He is committed to making a positive impact on farms and farm families.

Welcome to the Yankee Farm Credit team!

Yankee Customer Wins Vermont Dairy Farm of the Year

On Friday September 16th  Yankee Farm Credit customer Lanphear Farm was awarded Dairy Farm of the Year for Vermont.

Yankee Farm Credit Loan Officer, Craig Erickson was in attendance at the Green Pastures Dinner at the Big E in Springfield MA.  The dinner was to honor the Dairy Farm of The Year for each of the New England states.  The Dairy Farm of the Year for Vermont is the Lanphear Farm in Hyde Park, VT.  The whole family made the trip down and it was nice to hear about what a family effort it is on their farm.  During Kirk Lanphear's speech, he continuously went back to the importance of family, and balancing the work load with family time. 

Join them in celebrating with an Open House at the Farm:

For more information about the Open House, click here to visit their FaceBook page.

Click here for an Episode of Across the Fence, highlighting Lanphear Farm's accomplishment

Click here for a link to a University of Vermont Extension article.

New Employee - Kelly St. Pierre-Raymond

Kelly St. Pierre-Raymond started on September 19th  as an office assistant in our St. Albans, VT office.  Kelly has spent several years as a Police dispatcher/911 operator and thrives on providing calm, friendly service while maintaining organization and open communication. She is looking forward to working with our customers!
Please welcome Kelly to the Yankee Farm Credit Team!

New Employee - Dave Keenan

On August 22nd, Dave Keenan joined the Derby staff as a Senior Loan Officer.  A Plymouth State grad with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, Dave has an extensive history of banking and commercial finance experience with an economic development company and commercial banks in the Northeast Kingdom.  He is very active in the community and is a member of 3 volunteer fire departments.  Dave enjoys working with clients to help them achieve their goals and dreams.
Welcome to the team Dave!

Incoming CEO Announced

Yankee Farm Credit announces that Brenda Frank will start on October 1, 2016 as President and CEO Elect, taking on the full duties on January 1, 2017. Ms. Frank replaces retiring President and CEO George Putnam.

Brenda Frank has dedicated her career to making a difference in the business of agriculture. During her ten year career at Farm Credit Canada, she managed the commercial lending and point of sale finance functions for the Western Provinces of Canada. She also held roles working closely with the Board of Directors at Farm Credit Canada, to create long term business strategy, enterprise risk management and corporate planning processes.

Ms. Frank has a Bachelor Degree in Soil Science from the University of Minnesota, and an MBA from the University of Maryland. She is also a Chartered Director from McMasters University in Canada.

Ms. Frank’s twenty seven years of experience in agriculture started with managing the family farm in central Minnesota. She joined Syngenta in 1997 working in sales, and IT management. She then led a team of grain marketers and agronomy specialists at Cargill in Minnesota and South Dakota, prior to moving to Canada.

Brenda commented on the opportunity, “Yankee Farm Credit has a long history of commitment to agriculture. I look forward to working with the innovative and visionary people in the Association and the members we serve.”

In addition to work experience, Brenda is engaged in the study and advancement of good corporate governance, through the Directors College in Canada. Brenda’s community involvement has included working to address poverty for children and the elderly and dedication to ending the impacts of domestic violence.

George Putnam has been instrumental in the success of Yankee Farm Credit, serving as the President and CEO for the past 10 years. Under George's leadership gross loan volume more than doubled with the staff complement evolving to meet the growing needs of the members.

Board Chairman, Paul Franklin noted, "With such growth comes changes in human resources, technology, and regulatory compliance. The Board is thrilled to have Brenda take over the reins and apply the skills she has gained from her experience with Farm Credit Canada. Brenda is impressed with the diversity of agriculture in Yankee's geographic area and excited about meeting the challenges of Yankee's future. Brenda, and her husband Doug, are attracted to our region's beautiful landscape and its rich culture and history. The Board looks forward to working with Brenda and wishes them the best in their integration with the business and social fabric of our region."

New Employee - Matthew Thompson

Matthew Thompson is a recent graduate of Summit University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and joined the White River office as a Credit Analyst.  Matthew is coming to us from Chateaugay, NY and started on August 15^th.  Having grown up in a farming community he has a strong desire to help agriculture thrive in the Northeast.  He recently completed an accounting internship and spent several years as a farmhand, he is looking forward to putting his understanding of accounting, farming and analytical skills to work.
Please welcome Matt to our Yankee Farm Credit team!