2010 Vermont Farm Show

The 2010 Vermont Farm Show was held January 26 - 28, 2010 at the Barre Civic Center in Barre, VT. During the three day period many loan officers represented Yankee Farm Credit at our booth. Our crop insurance agent, Shantel Thomas was also on hand at various times through out the three day event.

Yankee congratulates the winners in the various categories from the Dairy banquet on January 28, 2010. Governor Jim Douglas was on hand to speak to the crowd, hand out awards, and have lunch with the farmers.

John C. Finley Award – Wanda Emrick
Vermont Farm of the Year – The Richardson Family in Hartland, VT

Highest Quality Milk Awards

Highest Quality Milk and Best Somatic Cell – North Hardwick Dairy, Hardwick, VT
1st Runner up for HQM and Best Pasteurized Milk (tie) – Richardson Family, Hartland, VT
2nd Runner up for HQM and Best Standard Plate Count – Jasper Hill Farm, Greensboro, VT
3rd Runner up for HQM (tie) and Best PI Count – Dale & Alma Briggs, Addison, VT
3rd Runner up for HQM (tie) – Davis & Tina Houde, St. Johnsbury, VT
Best Flavor and Best Pasteurized Milk (tie) – Andersonville Dairy, Glover, VT

Dairy Farmer Appreciation Day

We would like to thank Jay Peak Resort, in Jay, VT for hosting the 2010 Dairy Farmer Appreciation Day on Friday 1/29/10. Despite a temperature of 5 below and high winds which impacted some lift performance, there were still several people that turned out for this wonderful event. At left, Hans, Dan and Anna Laggis from Laggis Brothers Dairy in Hardwick, VT take a break from the cold. Rob Guay, Appraiser Trainee from the Chazy office; and Ken Buzzell, Senior Vice President of the Newport office, attended the event and donated a few door prizes. This was the 22nd anniversary of this incredible event which gives busy Vermont dairy farmers a chance to play on the mountain. Each Vermont dairy farm has the opportunity to take advantage of discounted rental equipment, free lessons and up to three complimentary lift passes. An après-ski party is held following the day on the slopes and fun events are held throughout the day. If you missed it this year, mark you calendars for next January! It is a great chance to enjoy what the Vermont winter has to offer. For more information please check out the Jay Peak website.

UNH Organic Producers Workshop

Yankee’s Crop Insurance Specialist Shantel Thomas attended the Organic Producers Workshop at Stonewall farm in Keene NH on January 26, 2010. The focus was on Marketing, Farm Infrastructure and Disease Management. The workshop was sponsored by UNH Cooperative Extension, NHDAMF, RMA and NOFA. It was a day long workshop and the following presenters were there:

Andy Jones, Intervale Community Farm, Burlington, VT
David Trumble, Good Earth Farm, Weare, NH
Shantel Thomas, Crop Growers LLP & Yankee Farm Credit
Bill Lord, UNH Cooperative Extension
Sherry Harris, Farm Service Agency
Brandon Smith, NRCS
Cheryl Smith, UNH Cooperative Extension

Tax Tips Newsletter

Our January issue of Tax Tips newsletter was mailed last month. This newsletter is sent to current tax and records clients, if you would like to be added to the mailing list for future editions please contact your local office. We anticipate sending this out quarterly. Below is an excerpt from the newsletter, to read the whole thing click here.

2009 Changes to be Aware Of by Jean Conklin, EA – Loan Officer/Farm Tax Specialist

Lump-Sum Timber Sales Now Require Issuance of Information Return Form 1099-S
The IRS has announced the finalization of amendments to the Income Tax Regulations under section 6045(e) of the Internal Revenue Code. These amendments provide that sales or exchanges of standing timber for lump-sum payments are “reportable real estate” transactions. The lump sum sales or exchanges should be reported using Form 1099-S, Proceeds from Real Estate Transactions. The amendments apply to sales completed after May 28, 2009. This change is in addition to the previously existing requirement for reporting of pay-as-cut timber sales using Form 1099-S.
Form 1099-S, Copy B, must be furnished to the timber seller by January 31st of the year after payment is made. Copy A is filed with the IRS by February 28th using a Form 1096. Completion of the form for each purchase requires the buyer to obtain the seller’s taxpayer identification number (TIN). This may be requested by using Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number.

For further assistance, please feel free to call a Financial Services Representative at your local office.

Financial Management for Community Entrepreneurship

On January 25, 2010, John Peters, Vice President of Operations, and Lisa Young, Records and Tax Specialist, attended a course at UVM. They met with the Financial Management for Community Entrepreneurship class being taught by Professor Grace Matiru, Ph.D. John's presentation dealt with the role that an applicant's financial records play in the credit decision process. He discussed the relationship between an applicant's financial records and the Five C's of Credit. Lisa's presentation provided the students with an understanding of the importance of developing and following a business plan - and then adjusting that plan as circumstances change. She used real life examples to emphasize the importance of financial records and business plans.

NH Risk Management Workshop for Agricultural Professionals

On January 14, 2010, about 60 agriculture professionals from NH gathered for an update on risk management issues in Concord, NH. Jean Conklin, Loan Officer and Farm Tax Specialist, from the White River office, and Shantel Thomas, Crop Insurance Agent, from the St. Albans office attended the meeting to represent Yankee. Farm Credit East was represented by David Bishop and Carol Zintel of the Bedford office.

Topics covered included:

· recent and proposed legislation impacting NH farmers;

· Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and its implementation on the farm;

· updates from NRCS, FSA and the NH Coalition for Sustaining Agriculture;

· Risk Management Agency (RMA) Opportunities and Programs and with an update by Shantel Thomas of Crop Growers, LLP; and

· dairy industry outlook and a dairy products and marketing panel which included presentations by Shirley Tullar of Berway Farm in Lyme, NH which has recently started bottling grass fed milk and Robin Chesmer of The Farmer’s Cow in Connecticut.

Lorraine S. Merrill, NH Commissioner of Agriculture, Markets and Foods, addressed the group about the Keep Local Farms initiative.

A Thrifty Dairyman

Arthur H. Packard, Sr. was president of Vermont Farm Bureau from 1928 to 1953, and a legend in Vermont agriculture. (Click here for more information about Arthur Packard.  He is in the Vermont Agricultural Hall of Fame.)

In his August 1949 column Mr. Packard quoted "a thrifty but smaller Vermont dairyman":

"I think Vermont farmers should cut out all unnecessary cost in the production of milk. I favor keeping the investment in the dairy plant and farm machinery at the lowest point consistent with getting the job done."

The farmer that Mr. Packard quoted was Harold Putnam of Cambridge, my father, then 34 years old. He had 30 cows at the time, and 15 youngstock. I recently reminded my father (now 95 years old) of this quote. He laughed and said, "Well, that advice hasn't gone stale yet, has it?"

Below is Mr. Packard's column from my father's scrapbook (click on the image to enlarge):

2009 Patronage Refund

The following letter is being mailed to members today:

January 14, 2010

Dear Member,

I am writing to you about the Association’s patronage refund program.

Since 1995 Yankee Farm Credit has paid a patronage refund of at least 1.00% (100 basis points) of member average loan volume. On two occasions, the Association paid more than 1.00% — 1.125% for 2006 and 1.20% for 2007. In both of those years, the Association’s financial ratios were favorable and this allowed a larger patronage refund.

The planned 2009 patronage refund is 0.80% (80 basis points) of member average loan volume. There are two reasons for this reduced patronage refund:

• Credit quality deteriorated in 2009, reflecting the financial difficulties facing many of our borrowers, particularly in the dairy industry. Consequently we recorded a provision for loan losses of $1.8 million, more than double the previous largest amount. This reduced the Association’s net income, which is the source of patronage refunds. Net income was also lower in 2009 than it could have been because we kept interest rates low.



• The Association’s loan volume increased in 2009 by 13% over 2008, primarily due to additional loans to existing customers to finance operating shortfalls. This is the most annual loan growth that Yankee has seen since its inception in 1995. This unusual growth reduced the Association’s capital ratios, and the Association failed to meet all of its capital goals for 2009. Conserving capital by reducing the patronage refund is prudent financial management.

Net income for 2009 (unaudited) was just over $5.0 million, and the planned patronage refund is $2,573,000 or 51% of net income. We plan to pay the 2009 patronage refund on or about March 25, 2010, which is the usual timing. As is true every year, there are two conditions that must be met before we pay patronage refunds to members: successful completion of the Association’s audit and receipt of the Association’s patronage refund from CoBank. We expect both conditions to be met by mid March.

The 2009 patronage refund will be paid 100% in cash, the same as in previous years.

Thank you for your patronage. Best wishes for the New Year.

Sincerely,

George S. Putnam
President and CEO

NH Women in Agriculture

Loan Officer/Farm Tax Specialist Jean Conklin, from the White River Jct. office, attended the New Hampshire Women in Agriculture Conference held at Antioch University New England in Keene, NH on January 9, 2010. The topic of the conference was Balancing Farm and Family, and also included a discussion of a formation of a Women in Agriculture Network in NH, similar to the WAgN groups in Vermont and Pennsylvania. The event was sponsored by UNH Cooperative Extension, NHDAMF and RMA. This day-long conference featured the following presenters:

· Kathy J. Soder, PhD, Farmer, Wife, Mother and Research Animal Scientist, USDA-ARS, State College, PA
· Annette M. Higby, Attorney, Randolph, VT
· Shelby Colwell, Crop Growers, LLP
· Lorraine S. Merrill, Commissioner, NHDAMF
· Tara Sad, Environment and Agriculture Committee Chair, NH House of Representatives
· And a farmer panel of local NH Women.

In the 2007 Census of Agriculture, NH has the 2nd highest percentage of farms owned/operated by women in the US, second only to Arizona.

Keep Local Farms

The Keep Local Farms program announced an arrangement with Hannaford Supermarkets yesterday to support northeast dairy farmers. Beginning February 1st Hannaford customers can make a voluntary contribution at the checkout register which will be pooled and paid to dairy farmers. More info:

Hannaford Supermarket pledges to help local farmers - WCAX article 1/12/10
Hannaford to help New England farmers - Burlington Free Press article 1/13/10

This marks a major new direction for Keep Local Farms. The program kicked off last September with initial support from UVM and Harvard. Interested persons can also support the program online.

Keep Local Farms is a joint initiative of the New England Family Dairy Farm Cooperative, the Cooperative Development Institute, the Vermont Dairy Promotion Council and the New England Dairy Promotion Board. Yankee director Walt Gladstone is president of the New England Family Dairy Farm Cooperative, and was present at yesterday's media event in South Burlington. The print edition of today's Burlington Free Press has a photo with Walt and others, but the photo is not online.