I took this photograph on my family's farm in Illinois a few years ago.
Happy May Day! I have had a great visit in Illinois visiting Lake Land College and family. Our pastureland grass is lush and green. Illinois has been hit with a lot of rain this spring. Dad *hopes* to plant corn next weekend. Had a nice afternoon catching up on blogs. Here are a few that caught my eye:
1. April 18th came and went. Did you forget to pay your taxes? If you are still working on your 2010 returns, I liked this post regarding business expenses.
2. Here’s an update on the Ohio Livestock Care Standards.
3. The seven-year tax depreciation schedule for farm equipment may soon change to only five-years.
4. Are you thinking about helping your grandchildren with college tuition? The Tax Relief Act of 2010 makes it easier to do so. You can review the Top Five tax downloads here.
5. Last week I conducted a real estate closing in Manhattan with a woman who brought her two dogs to work with her each day. Have you considered making your workplace “pet friendly?”
6. Are you “self-made?” Read this post on how it may affect your estate plan.
7. For your technology nerds, I thought this was a handy post regarding converting data on Microsoft Word to Excel.
8. There’s been some talk about federal tax credits for New York wind energy production. If you haven’t already done so, review my last post regarding wind energy agreements.
9. Have you checked out the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) Agriculture Marketing Service (“AMS”) Farmers Market Directory?
10. Think about these five tax tips for those of you who are going through a New York divorce. Also, there might not be a defense to New York’s “no fault” divorce after all. Alternatively, are you thinking about buying a home with your significant other in New York?
11. For those of you who are law students, did you hear about the new LLM Program at the University of Oklahoma in Energy, Natural Resources, and Indigenous Peoples. I also make no secret that I’m a fan of this LLM Program in Agriculture and Food Law.
12. I was recently spotlighted on the YPC Cattle Call along with Lance Zimmerman and Holly Foster.
13. Earth Day was a little over a week ago. What did you do to celebrate? What do you do on your farm/ranch or agri-business to help conserve natural resources?
14. This is a type of problem that I would like to have.
15. Here are some thoughts on iPad applications. I might be downloading some of these applications this afternoon.
16. I enjoyed reading this interview with the Executive Vice President from the North Dakota Stockman’s Association and this interview with Bill Donald, President of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Speaking of interviews, in case you missed it, I really enjoyed reading this interview with Dr. Temple Grandin.