SCHUMER CALLS
ON FARM COMMUNITY & NYS AG
OFFICIALS TO SUPPORT LEGISLATION TO ALLOW NY
FARMERS TO INCREASE MILK PRODUCTION, MEET
GROWING GREEK YOGURT DEMAND
Schumer Allows Farmers to Get the Same Tax Break On
Livestock Purchases as Other Businesses Receive On Equipment - Allows
NY Farmers to Grow Herds & Meet Growing Milk Demand; Create IRA-
Like Savings Accounts to Help Farmers Save & Grow During Booms,
Stay Afloat During Lean Times
NY Farm Bureau Says NY Milk Production Must Increase By 15% --
Schumer Bill to Help Farmers Meet Growing Demand
Schumer: NY Dairy Community Needs Boost to Ride Greek Yogurt
Wave
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer recently called on the New York State dairy community to lead the charge in supporting his legislation that will provide New York dairy farmers, who wish to expand their operations to meet the demand being fueled by the Greek yogurt boom, with the financial tools they need. Schumer's call comes in light of today's yogurt summit in Albany aimed at finding solutions to meet the growing demand for milk, thanks to the fact that Greek yogurt production requires roughly three times the amount of milk as compared to regular yogurt. New plants including the Pepsi Muller Quaker plant, Alpina, Fage, and Chobani are expanding across the state, and the New York Farm Bureau predicts that New York's dairy farmers must be able to expand their output by 15 percent in order to take advantage of the opportunity that Greek yogurt presents for our farmers.
Schumer renewed his call for support of his plan, called the DAIRY (Dairy Augmentation for Increased Retail in Yogurt products) Act, which would help dairy owners more easily expand their farms and production. Schumer's legislation will allow farmers who purchase cows that are already in production to write off the cows as a capital expense, lowering their overall tax burden. Schumer's bill would also establish federal savings accounts targeted to farmers to help them save and grow during booms and to weather market downturns. The accounts would be structured to reward savings during periods when business is strong and defer taxes on those savings until farmers must withdraw funds to cover new expenses or manage cash flow.
"The bottom line is that in order to meet the growing demand for their product as a result of this welcome Greek yogurt boom, our dairy farmers will need a helping hand to expand their herds in a timely and cost-effective way. And my legislation, the DAIRY Act, will enable them to do just that by treating new livestock the same way that we already treat heavy equipment, when it comes to tax incentives. It is a solution that goes to the heart of the problem, and we need strong support from the whole dairy community to create the momentum to get it done," said Schumer.
"The DAIRY Act will give the New York dairy community the boost it needs to ride the Greek yogurt wave," said Schumer. "Greek yogurt is popping up on shelves in supermarkets from coast to coast, and its popularity is creating a golden opportunity for New York's hard-working dairy farmers. After years of struggle caused by the recession, I want to make sure as much of that milk as possible comes from New York and that our state's dairy farmers don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to grow their businesses. That's why we need to support this legislation that will lower farmers' tax burdens when they expand, and help farmers manage their profits to grow in the good years and make it through the lean years. Our dairy farmers are an economic engine for the Empire State, and these proposals would ensure they can expand their operation when demand for milk is greatest."
Over the last several years, upstate New York has become home to several new dairy-intensive Greek yogurt and yogurt product plants that have resulted in a spike in demand for New York milk. Greek yogurt produced at plants like Chobani in Chenango County and Fage in Fulton County requires roughly three times the amount of milk as standard yogurt. Alpina and Pepsi/Muller are both building plants in western New York to produce various yogurt products. Thanks to the spike in demand from the growing yogurt industry, the state produced almost 13 billion pounds of milk in 2010. Yogurt has exploded in popularity due to demand in New York City, upstate New York, and other pockets across the country. According to the New York Times, the Chobani plant in Johnstown employs approximately 900 people in New York and has plans to reach 1,000 employees. Fage said it currently employs 250 and is seeking to hire an additional 140 workers. The two plants in Genesee County, Alpina, and Pepsi's Muller Quaker will combine to employ about 230 workers.
While the demand for local milk has increased dramatically over the last several years, many dairy farmers know it is not always possible or profitable for them to expand and produce more milk to cover the gap. Schumer's legislation will help give dairy farmers additional financial tools to make it possible for them to tap into periods of increased demand. Recently, the New York Farm Bureau stated that New York's dairy farmers would have to increase their milk output by 15 percent in order to meet the demands of the rapidly expanding yogurt industry in the state. Between the Fage, Alpina, Chobani, and new Pepsi Muller Quaker yogurt product plants, New York farmers will have to produce 1,879,860,000 additional pounds of milk each year to keep up. Here is how the numbers break down across the state.
• In the Capital Region, there are 63,500 dairy cows and production must grow by 199,410,000 pounds of milk per year
• In Central New York, there are 129,600 dairy cows and production must grow by 428,625,000 pounds of milk per year
• In the Rochester Finger Lakes Region, there are 140,600 dairy cows and production must grow by 471,300,000 pounds of milk per year
• In the Southern Tier, there are 96,400 dairy cows and production must grow by 259,275,000 pounds of milk per year
• In the North Country, there are 107,700 dairy cows and production must grow by 336,225,000 pounds of milk per year
• In the Hudson Valley, there are 10,100 dairy cows and production must grow by 24,150,000 pounds of milk per year
• In Western New York, there are 55,600 dairy cows and production must grow by 160,875,000 pounds of milk per year
To help arm New York's dairy farmers with financial tools should they decide to grow to meet the increasing demand, Schumer announced his plans to introduce the DAIRY (Dairy Augmentation for Increased Retail in Yogurt products) Act earlier this year, and is now pushing for the strong and united support of the New York dairy community. The first proposal in Schumer's legislation would expand the eligibility for a key tax incentive that allows business owners of all types to write off capital expenses on their taxes. To determine taxable income, businesses subtract expenses from their receipts. For items that are not entirely used up during the year (such as capital equipment), they subtract the value over a number of years as the investment is used up. Bonus depreciation allows a large portion of the deduction to be taken when the asset is first purchased. For 2012, bonus depreciation is currently set at 50 percent. This allows businesses to immediately deduct 50 cents of every dollar spent on qualifying investment purchases in the year purchased. The remaining 50 cents would be deducted over a number of years according to regular depreciation schedules.
For 2012, dairy farm operators can immediately deduct 50 cents of every dollar spent on qualifying livestock purchases, which include the purchase of any "new" dairy cow not previously used for a business purpose. However, dairy cows purchased from another herd do not qualify for this generous tax benefit. Schumer's legislation would expand the definition of qualifying livestock eligible for 50 percent bonus depreciation this year to include all dairy cows purchased by a dairy farm operator for business use, regardless of whether the dairy cow's original use had commenced with another taxpayer.
Schumer's legislation would also modify rules relating to when a dairy cow qualifies for bonus depreciation. Under this proposal, bonus depreciation may be claimed in the year the dairy cow is acquired. For 2012, the bonus depreciation amount would be 50 percent of the acquisition price. The remainder of the basis of the dairy cow would be recovered beginning in the year the dairy cow is placed in service (under existing placed-in-service rules). For purposes of the above, a dairy cow includes a calf acquired to provide dairy products as well as a dairy cow or bull acquired to breed dairy cows. This proposal would be a huge boost to the bottom line of dairy farmers who grow their operation by purchasing young cows that may not have begun to produce milk but have already been deemed a business asset.
For example, if a dairy farmer purchases fifteen mature cows from another herd at a total cost of $30,000 in 2012, under Schumer's plan that farmer can deduct $15,000 as bonus depreciation in 2012 as well as $3,000 under standard depreciation rules (as the first year of standard depreciation on the remaining $15,000 in basis). The remainder would then be written off according to the standard depreciation schedule (year 2 - $4,800, year 3 - $2,880, years 4 and 5 - $1,728, and year 6 - $864), saving the individual thousands of dollars on his or her taxes. The proposal would also help a farmer's bottom line when the farmer purchases younger cows. For example - a dairy farmer purchases twenty dairy calves from another herd at a total cost of $30,000 in 2012, and eight of the calves reach maturity in 2013. The remaining twelve calves reach maturity in 2014. In that scenario, Schumer's plan would allow farmer to deduct $15,000 as bonus depreciation in 2012. In 2013, $6,000 ($15,000 x 8/20) is placed-in-service and depreciated over the next 5 years. In 2014, $9,000 ($15,000 x 12/20) is placed-in-service and depreciated over the next 5 years. Providing this tax relief would allow the farmer to put more of his or her earnings into expanding the business by purchasing additional cows or equipment.
Secondly, Schumer's bill would provide dairy farm operators with tax-preferenced savings accounts as a means to manage farm revenue risk and fluctuations in the market. The proposal would allow operators to make deposits in the accounts during high-income periods and hold it until leaner times, when additional revenues are needed. Tax liability on deposits would be deferred until contributions were taxed at the marginal rate upon withdrawal, similar to the way that education and retirement savings accounts operate. Additionally, the deferral of taxes upon deposit into the account will allow farmers to invest funds in the near term that would otherwise be obligated for current-year tax payments. Schumer's bill includes no limit on the amount of dollars that could be deposited each year; however, funds must remain in the account for at least six months before becoming eligible for withdrawal. The USDA's Dairy Industry Advisory Committee has advocated for this type of approach in the past, and Schumer's bill would require that the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Treasury work together to develop guidelines for implementing and administering the accounts