Overview

The second of the two national conferences on Farm/Ranch Income Tax and Farm/Ranch Estate and Business Planning is coming up on August 2 and 3 in Missoula, Montana.  A month later, on September 3, I will be conducting an “Ag Law Summit” at Mahoney State Park located between Omaha and Lincoln, NE.

Upcoming conferences on agricultural taxation, estate and business planning, and agricultural law – it’s the topic of today’s post.

Montana

The second of my two 2021 summer conferences on agricultural taxation and estate/business planning will be held in beautiful Missoula, Montana.  Day 1 on August 2 is devoted to farm income taxation, with sessions involving an update of farm income tax developments; lingering PPP and ERC issues (as well as an issue that has recently arisen with respect to EIDLs); NOLs (including the most recent IRS Rev. Proc. and its implications); timber farming; oil and gas taxation; handling business interest; QBID/DPAD planning; FSA tax and planning issues; and the prospects for tax legislation and implications.  There will also be a presentation on Day 1 by IRS Criminal Investigation Division on how tax practitioners can protect against cyber criminals and other theft schemes. 

On Day 2, the focus turns to estate and business planning with an update of relevant court and IRS developments; a presentation on the farm economy and what it means for ag clients and their businesses; special use valuation; corporate reorganizations; the use of entities in farm succession planning; property law issues associated with transferring the farm/ranch to the next generation; and an ethics session focusing on end-of life decisions.

If you have ag clients that you do tax or estate/business planning work for, this is a “must attend” conference – either in-person or online.

For more information about the Montana conference and how to register, click here:  https://www.washburnlaw.edu/employers/cle/farmandranchtaxaugust.html

Nebraska

On September 3, I will be holding an “Ag Law Summit” at Mahoney St. Park, near Ashland, NE.  The Park is about mid-way between Omaha and Lincoln, NE on the adjacent to the Platte River and just north of I-80.  The Summit will be at the Lodge at the Park.  On-site attendance is limited to 100.  However, the conference will also be broadcast live over the web for those that would prefer to or need to attend online.

I will be joined at the Summit by Prof. Ed Morse of Creighton Law School who, along with Colten Venteicher of the Bacon, Vinton, et al., firm in Gothenburg, NE, will open up their “Ag Entreprenuer’s Toolkit” to discuss the common business and tax issues associated with LLCs.  Also on the program will be Dan Waters of the Lamson, et al. firm in Omaha.  Dan will address how to successfully transition the farming business to the next generation of owners in the family. 

Katie Zulkoski and Jeffrey Jarecki will provide a survey of state laws impacting agriculture in Nebraska and key federal legislation (such as the “30 x 30” matter being discussed).  The I will address special use valuation – a technique that will increase in popularity if the federal estate tax exemption declines from its present level.  I will also provide an update on tax legislation (income and transfer taxes) and what it could mean for clients. 

The luncheon speaker for the day is Janet Bailey.  Janet has been deeply involved in Kansas agriculture for many years and will discuss how to create and maintain a vibrant rural practice. 

If you have a rural practice, I encourage you to attend.  It will be worth your time. 

For more information about the conference, click here:   https://www.washburnlaw.edu/employers/cle/aglawsummit.html

Conclusion

The Montana and Nebraska conferences are great opportunities to glean some valuable information for your practices.  As noted, both conferences will also be broadcast live over the web if you can’t attend in person.   

Photo of Roger McEowen Roger McEowen

Roger A. McEowen is the Professor of Agricultural Law and Taxation at Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kansas.

Through 2015, he was the Leonard Dolezal Professor in Agricultural Law at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, where he was also the…

Roger A. McEowen is the Professor of Agricultural Law and Taxation at Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kansas.

Through 2015, he was the Leonard Dolezal Professor in Agricultural Law at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, where he was also the Director of the ISU Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation (CALT), which he founded.  Under his leadership, CALT utilized no taxpayer funds in its operations and fully funded staff salaries and benefits, as well as office rent, equipment and supplies, and travel costs from funds generated by seminars and other education-related events and materials.  At ISU he also introduced an agricultural law course into the undergraduate curriculum initially as an experimental course, ultimately building the course from the ground-up to almost 100 students in attendance by the spring semester of 2015.  He was also the highest rated speaker at the annual fall CALT tax schools every year through 2015.  Before joining Iowa State in 2004, he was an associate professor of agricultural law and extension specialist in agricultural law and policy at Kansas State. From 1991-1993, McEowen was in the full-time practice of law with Kelley, Scritsmier and Byrne in North Platte, Nebraska.

McEowen also teaches an undergraduate course in agricultural law at Kansas State University, and has been a visiting professor of law at the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville, Arkansas, teaching in both the J.D. and L.L.M. programs. He has also previously taught at Washburn Law School and the Drake University School of Law Summer Institute in Agricultural Law.

He has published scholarly articles in the Journal of Agricultural Taxation and Law, Indiana Law Review, Drake Journal of Agricultural Law, North Dakota Law Review, Nebraska Law Review, Monthly Digest of Tax Articles, Tax Notes, West’s Social Security Reporting System, Toledo Law Review, Washburn Law Journal, Creighton Law Review, Agricultural Law Update, and the Agricultural Law Digest. He is the author of Principles of Agricultural Law, an 850-page textbook/casebook that is updated twice annually, and a second 300-page book on agricultural law. His Agricultural Law and Taxation Blog, part of the Law Professor Blogs Network, contains approximately 130 detailed and fully annotated articles annually and is the most widely read agriclultural law and taxation blog online.  In mid-2017, Prof. McEowen’s new book, Agricultural Law in a Nutshell, was published by West Academic Publishing Co.  McEowen also authors the monthly publication, “Kansas Farm and Estate Law.” In addition, he co-authors Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) Tax Management Portfolios on the federal estate tax family-owned business deduction and the reporting of farm income, and is the lead author of a BNA portfolio concerning the income taxation of cooperatives.  He is also the Editor of the Iowa Bar Tax Manual, and Estate Planning for Farmers and Ranchers and Family Business Organizations, both Thomson/West publications.

Prof. McEowen conducts approximately 80-100 seminars annually across the United States for farmers, agricultural business professionals, lawyers, and other tax professionals. He also conducts two radio programs each airing twice monthly heard across the Midwest and on the worldwide web.  In addition,his two-minute radio program, “The Agricultural Law and Tax Report,” is heard each weekday by over 2 million listeners on farm radio stations from NY to CA as well as SiriusXM 147. He also can be seen as a weekly guest on RFD-TV where he discusses various agricultural law and tax topics with the RFD-TV hosts.

In 2003, McEowen was named the recipient of the American Agricultural Law Association (AALA) Distinguished Service Award, becoming the youngest recipient in AALA history.  He is also the recipient of the AALA’s award of excellence for professional scholarship. In 2006, McEowen was named the President-Elect of the AALA.

He received a B.S. with distinction from Purdue University in Management in 1986, an M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Iowa State University in 1990, and a J.D. from the Drake University School of Law in 1991.

He is a member of the Iowa and Kansas Bar Associations and is admitted to practice in Nebraska. He is also a past member of the AALA Board of Directors.

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