January 12, 2018
CapitalPress.com
9
Co-ops dodge tax bullet in reform bill
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Members of farm cooperatives
have dodged a bullet in the newly
passed federal tax reform bill.
As originally proposed, the leg-
islation would have eliminated a
tax deduction and increased co-ops’
tax obligations by 6-15 percent, ac-
cording to the National Council of
Farmer Cooperatives. But the final
bill offsets that increase with other
savings.
The deduction, known as Section
199, allows farm cooperatives to de-
duct 9 percent of their profits from
their taxable gross income. Most of
that deduction has traditionally been
Washington
FFA state
adviser looks
to evolve
program
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Denny Wallace says FFA
has always been in his blood.
“It’s all about leadership,
citizenship and
cooperation,”
he said. “The
thing
about
agriculture is
you’re working
with the soil,
nature and an-
Denny
imals. You’re
Wallace
getting to see
what your re-
sponsibility and care can do in
the real world.”
Wallace started in FFA as a
student in 1967 and served as
a state officer in his senior year
of high school. He became an
agriculture teacher in 1976 in
Eatonville, and taught in Yelm
until 2010.
Wallace became state FFA
adviser in July, replacing his
daughter, Rebecca Wallace. He
is also program supervisor for
agricultural sciences in career
and technical education in the
state Office of the Superinten-
dent of Public Instruction in
Olympia.
FFA takes students, no mat-
ter their background or belief
system, and teaches them to be
successful in business and life,
Wallace said.
“You get to see unmolded
clay coming into the education
system that has a lot of po-
tential and you get to find out
what they can actually do, just
by giving them the self-confi-
dence and training they need,”
he said.
In the legislature this year,
the Washington FFA Associ-
ation, with the support of the
AgForestry Leadership Pro-
gram participants, is seeking
$500,000 in state funding an-
nually. The money would fund
the FFA association’s executive
director position and establish
a grant program to provide
resources for low-income stu-
dents.
The request would help
provide a consistent source for
the state association’s expens-
es. Right now the position is
funded using state and national
sources and donations, Wallace
said.
FFA also hopes to incorpo-
rate agricultural subjects with
the state Core Plus program,
which offers training in the
skilled trades, so students can
receive academic credit.
“We have an uphill battle,”
Wallace said. “There’s a lot
of districts that think the only
science is theoretical science
taught out of a textbook. They
don’t see how irrigation or soils
or some of the things we teach
in agriculture is science, and
yet, for those in agriculture,
you know that it’s all science.
We’re teaching it in an applied
manner.”
Wallace is also looking to
“evolve” FFA’s programs to
remain relevant to students’
needs.
“What skill set is relevant for
today’s future, which ones do
we need to cut, and what do we
need to replace them with?” he
asked. “You’ve got to stay rele-
vant, you’ve got to be fresh and
yet you want to respect where
we came from. Teaching kids
how to lead, how to work with
others and how to be good citi-
zens is at the root of all of this.”
passed on to farmer members, who
can then apply it to their own in-
come, said Justin Darisse, vice pres-
ident of communications for NCFC.
So, for example, a food proces-
sor cooperative with $1 million in
profits could deduct $90,000 from
its taxable income. Cooperatives
would usually have made most of
that $90,000 available to members
proportionally based on how much
they used the cooperative.
When the original tax reform
proposal was unveiled, NCFC and
other groups protested the repeal of
Section 199, which they estimated
saved U.S. farmers about $2 billion
annually.
While the version of the bill ap-
proved by Congress still repeals that
provision, it’s replaced with two new
tax deductions.
Under one provision, farmers can
deduct 20 percent of the payments
they receive from cooperatives from
their taxable income. Under the other
provision, the cooperative itself can
deduct 20 percent of whatever money
it doesn’t distribute to farmer mem-
bers.
Some farmers and cooperatives
will pay somewhat less tax under the
new system while others will pay
slightly more, but overall it’s likely to
be similar to Section 199, said Darisse.
“Generally, it came out, in our
opinion, to a very good place,” he
said.
USDA
As originally proposed, the tax reform legislation would have eliminated a tax de-
duction and increased co-ops’ tax obligations by 6-15 percent, according to the
National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. But the final bill offsets that increase
with other savings.
WSU cereal variety testing program director leaving
Program remains ‘high
priority’ for university
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Ryan Higginbotham, director of
Washington State University’s cereal
variety testing program, is leaving in
early February to take a new position
with HighLine Grain LLC.
Higginbotham has served as direc-
tor of the cereal variety testing program
since 2014. He will take a position with
HighLine Grain as manager of seed
and special services and will be based
in Reardan, Wash.
Higginbotham said the move puts
him closer to family in Almira and
Spokane.
“Professionally, it just is an excit-
ing fit,” he said. “I think it meshes well
with what I currently do but also I’ll
get to expand that skill set and continue
to serve farmers, is the most important
thing. It seemed like too good of an op-
portunity to pass up.”
Higginbotham expects his duties to
include small-plot research, looking at
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press File
Ryan Higginbotham, director of Washington State University’s cereal variety testing
program, speaks during a field day last July 6. He will depart in early February to
take a position with HighLine Grain.
alternative crops such as peas, chick-
peas, triticale and canola, identifying
varieties that would work well in the
HighLine area.
“A little less in the cereal grains,” he
said. “It’s an odd position for me to say
this, but I think WSU does a good job
of running variety trials. We don’t need
to duplicate that work.”
The program will continue, said
Rich Koenig, WSU associate dean of
extension.
“Growers, through the Washington
Grain Commission, fund this program
to provide information on yield and
other performance of all commercial-
ly relevant wheat and barley varieties
grow in Washington,” Koenig said.
“The need for this information remains,
and the program is a high priority for
WSU.”
Koenig credited Higginbotham with
expanding the scope of testing and ini-
tiating new collaborative trials with pri-
vate industry.
“He was an outstanding communi-
cator and earned the trust and respect
of growers and industry,” Koenig said.
“He will be tough to replace. While we
will miss him at WSU, the Washington
wheat industry will continue to benefit
from his presence in his new position.”
Higginbotham said he feels the
program provided growers with useful
information to make variety selections.
He’s proudest of the cooperation devel-
oped with private companies.
“I feel like we developed some real-
ly good relationships and they saw the
value of the testing program, they trust-
ed the results we provided,” he said.
“It’s been my privilege to serve (grow-
ers), it’s been a joy to serve them.”
Higginbotham said he will set up
the spring entry list for WSU’s variety
testing program before he departs.
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_____________________________________
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Phone
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Norman D. Brock, Attorney
Offices in Kennewick & Spokane
(509) 622-4707 • corey@brocklf.com
Office in Davenport
(509) 725-3101 • norm@brocklf.com
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Corey works primarily with farm families and farm related businesses in meeting their transition and business goals.
Corey has significant experience particularly with respect to LLCs, buyouts and buy-sell agreements in corporations
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Phone (509) 622-4707 • Fax (509) 622-4705
Email Corey@BrockLF.com
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