Farming As a Business Versus a Hobby

[@wvuextensionexperts]

Is your business classified as a farm?

[@caseyswann1389]

I’m confused. I hear you use the phrase “making a profit” and the phrase “profit motivated” to qualify as a farm. So you don’t have to actually make a profit if you are operating as a business? Do you have to be in business for atleast 3 years?

[@wvuextensionexperts]

@@caseyswann1389, to qualify as a farm you do not need to be in business for three years unless you are applying for certain types of programs, such as USDA cost-share. It would be a best practice to show a profit, but it is not required to show a profit every year as a farm.

[@rpggamez1347]

I want to se a video of how to do a business plan for my farm ! Please

[@martingriffith7824]

Just started selling this month. Thank you for the information. Looking forward to seeing more of your videos

[@rachelthomason1281]

Hey I’d love to see the farm business plan please!

[@christinakunitsa318]

If we are still working on starting our farm and didn’t make a profit last year can we still file 1040 F for last years tax return to claim farm expenses/start up costs even though there was no profit yet?

[@JorgeSanchez-je4bt]

Question on the definition of a farm. A 1000 dollars in revenue or in net profit of agg product?

[@Justinwallace33]

I am planning to raise honey bees on 25 acres I just purchased. I will need to buy a tractor and bee boxes as part of the start up cost. Since those are pretty significant purchases ~$30K, and I will probably only make about $500 per hive per year from honey, would I still be able to consider that a farm for tax purposes? After my initial purchases, the bees should be profitable, but it will only be maybe $2500 per year or so.

[@wvuextensionexperts]

Yes, if you have sold or produced $1,000 or more of agricultural products per year, then you qualify as a farm business. In general if you have net earnings of $400 or more per year, then you will need to pay self-employment tax.

[@AllStarRealEstateSteveHula]

I sell commercial poultry farms owned by private individuals who contract with integrators like Tyson, Butterball, Simmons, etc. Insurance is becoming an issue on poultry houses 30+ years old. Insurance companies do not want to insure these steel truss, 40 x 450 houses, but I could get insurance on a 30 year old apartment building. Seems like an inspector could personally look at the structures to determine if they have been well maintained and look like a good risk rather than just turning any poultry house 30+ yrs old down flat? How can an owner ever sell these businesses? Lenders require insurance. Thank you for your videos!

[@nzitner14]

Awesome videos Lisa! I didnt know if I would need multiple LLC's for different products that my Farmstead could produce or not until watching this video. I plan to produce Honey, Eggs, Pork and I also plan to sell firewood, does firewood count as an agricultural product?

[@vernonhuffman2311]

You should need just the one. Thats exactly what we did this year and what we're doing. Just set yourself up for wholesale and retail in Ag when filling out your forms.We did cattle and produce on the different drop down menus available when filing. Include dairy etc if you ever wanna do butter, milk, cheese blah blah Best of luck

[@judylee2051]

For me, you lose your credibility with the cutesy, "toodles". 😞

[@HarrisonCountyStudio]

Ha, that’s funny coming from someone who uses a “sad emoji”.

[@judylee2051]

@@HarrisonCountyStudio So let me repeat...for me, you lose credibility when you sign off with "toodles". Just think about it and find an appropriate sign off so that what you have said is received as important.

[@wvuextensionexperts]

Thank you for your interest in the content and the constructive feedback.

[@khafreahmose8768]

Omg chill out Judy... 🙄