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14 CapitalPress.com December 11, 2015 Accountant keeps farmers on track By BRENNA WIEGAND For the Capital Press One of the biggest chal- lenges farmers and ranchers face is keeping track of their ¿QDQFHV That’s when a good ac- countant is important. “A good accountant will help you plan for the future, retain as much cash as pos- sible and even help you with current decisions,” Bob Kem- EOHDFHUWL¿HGSXEOLFDFFRXQ- tant at the Nichols Accounting Group in Ontario, Ore., said. “Like most people are, they’re always tax-averse, but I always make sure, if a cli- ent asks advice on whether to make a purchase, that they’re doing it for a good business reason,” Kemble said. “If it ¿WV \RXU RSHUDWLRQ LI LW ZLOO make your life easier, then by all means make the purchase. But if you’re buying some- thing just to save taxes … if you’re spending a dollar to save 35 cents … that’s not the right reason. “‘Don’t let the tax tail wag the dog’ is a cliché but it re- ally is true,” Kemble said. “I encourage my clients to look at their operation in a business sense.” The challenges ranchers and farmers face vary depend- ing on their crops and geog- raphy. “We’re facing a lot of challenges over here with ONDA (Oregon Natural Desert Association) trying to make a big land grab in the Owyhees that would desig- nate about 2.5 million acres as a national conservation or wilderness area,” Kemble said. “That could really af- fect our ranchers.” For a large percentage of ag operators, navigating the PD]H RI UHJXODWLRQV DFKLHY- ing proper bookkeeping and other business practices and developing strategies for risk prevention and crisis manage- ment proves a daunting task, one they shouldn’t try to go alone. “Oftentimes a farmer or rancher is the CEO and every- thing else, so it sure helps to be able to bounce problems or concerns off a circle of trust- ed advisers,” Kemble said. “A good accountant is not only FRQFHUQHG ZLWK PLQLPL]LQJ the tax bill but also with the larger picture of how to in- crease income after taxes and over time … and help them set up systems for record NHHSLQJ ¿QDQFLDO FRQWUROV and management.” Bankers, lenders weigh in on the business of ag Willamette Valley of Oregon. “About a quarter of our business is agriculture-related,” When today’s farmer ap- Terjeson said. proaches a lender, the questions The bank lends money for he is asked are different from agriculture real estate, operating the ones his father got. lines of credit and equipment Brian Field, founder and loans, and is a full-service bank. president of agriculture real “That is one of our niches. estate lender Harvest Capital, Everything from loans to de- is much more interested in the posit to merchant accounts and structure of a balance sheet. other banking services, includ- “When we get somebody ing cash management,” he said. coming in we ask, ‘Is your bal- “Our other niches are agri- ance sheet actually balanced as business and small business,” far as the level of debt goes?’” Terjeson said. “We cater to Field said. “That’s a different ERWKEHFDXVHWKH\¿WULJKWLQWR question from what our dads the type of relationship-mak- got asked back in the ’70s, ing that we are proud of. If you which was ‘Are you leveraged don’t have a close relationship, enough?’ things could get out of hand “What we’re saying is: before you even know it. They If you’re using capital mar- need to trust us to be around kets-type debt, are you using it and we need to trust them to to where, as agriculture chang- manage their business.” es, as your operation chang- Brent Fetsch is Oregon pres- es, you are protected against ident of Northwest Farm Credit downturns, whether in the mar- 6HUYLFHV$PRQJWKHEHQH¿WVRI ket or, more importantly, Moth- cooperative ownership, he said, er Nature?” is the existence of customer ad- Steve Terjeson, executive visory groups at each of their vice president and chief lend- 2UHJRQRI¿FHV7KLVNLQGRI LQJ RI¿FHU IRU &LWL]HQV %DQN engagement gives them insight oversees 15 branches across the into local culture and afforded By BRENNA WIEGAND For the Capital Press them a front row seat to the re- covery of many operations hit particularly hard by the housing crisis following 2008. In their favor are well over 220 different commodities Or- egon farmers grow. “Our customers have var- ious options and I just think that’s a treasure,” Fetsch said. “One need only to look at the trajectory of world population to feel pretty good about the in- creasing demand for food, but it won’t be a straight line. Ag- riculture has generally enjoyed a very good run in recent years. However, we are seeing signals of a down cycle in many com- modities.” Keeping a sense of perspec- tive is an anchor in the storm- tossed existence that is farming. “I marvel at the progress farmers and ranchers have made,” Fetsch said. “Look at the yields off just about any crop on the same number of DFUHVWKHHI¿FLHQF\ZLWKZKLFK they’re able to use irrigation water and so on … when you look back 25 years to today the production increases are re- markable.” Brenna Wiegand/For the Capital Press Skip Gray, an Albany, Ore., farmer and Northwest Financial Credit Services board member; Northwest )LQDQFLDO&UHGLW6HUYLFHV&(23KLO'L3R¿DQG%UHQW)HWVFK2UHJRQ3UHVLGHQWRI1RUWKZHVW)LQDQFLDO &UHGLW6HUYLFHVFKHFNRXWD¿HOG AF15-2/#14 AF15-7/#4