Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, Conference – Twin Track

Overview

On August 7-8 in beautiful Coeur d’ Alene, ID, Washburn Law School the second of its two summer conferences on farm income taxation as well as farm and ranch estate and business planning.  A bonus for the ID conference will be a two-day conference focusing on various ag legal topics.    The University of Idaho College of Law and College of Agricultural and Life Sciences along with the Idaho State Bar and the ag law section of the Idaho State Bar are co-sponsoring.  This conference represents the continuing effort of Washburn Law School in providing practical and detailed CLE to rural lawyers, CPAs and other tax professionals as well as getting law students into the underserved rural areas of the Great Plains and the West.  The conference can be attended online in addition to the conference location in Coeur d’ Alene at the North Idaho College. 

More information on the August Idaho Conference and some topics in ag law – it’s the topic of today’s post.

Idaho Conference

Over two days in adjoining conference rooms the focus will be on providing continuing education for tax professionals and lawyers that represent agricultural clients.  All sessions are focused on practice-relevant topic.  One of the two-day tracks will focus on agricultural taxation on Day 1 and farm/ranch estate and business planning on Day 2.  The other track will be two-days of various agricultural legal issues. 

Here's a bullet-point breakdown of the topics:

Tax Track (Day 1)

• Caselaw and IRS Update
• What is “Farm Income” for Farm Program Purposes?
• Inventory Method – Options for Farmers
• Machinery Trades
• Easement and Rental Issues for Landowners
• Protecting a Tax Practice From Scammers
• Amending Partnership Returns
• Corporate Provided Meals and Lodging
• CRATs
• IC-DISCS
• When Cash Method Isn’t Available
• Accounting for Hedging Transactions
• Deducting a Purchased Growing Crop
• Deducting Soil Fertility

Tax Track (Day 2)

• Estate and Gift Tax Current Developments
• Succession Plans that Work (and Some That Don’t)
• The Use of SLATs in Estate Planning
• Form 1041 and Distribution Deductions
• Social Security as an Investment
• Screening New Clients
• Ethics for Estate Planners

Ag Law Track (Day 1)

• Current Developments and Issues
• Current Ag Economic Trends
• Handling Adverse Decisions on Federal Grazing Allotments
• Getting and Retaining Young Lawyers in Rural Areas
• Private Property Rights and the Clean Water Act – the Aftermath of the Sackett Decision
• Ethics

Ag Law Track (Day 2)

• Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land
• Immigrant Labor in Ag
• Animal Welfare and the Legal System
• How/Why Farmers and Ranchers Use and Need Ag Lawyers and Tax Pros
• Agricultural Leases

Both tracks will be running simultaneously, and both will be broadcast live online.  Also, you can register for either track.  There’s also a reception on the evening of the first day on August 7.  The reception is sponsored by the University of Idaho College of Law and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Idaho, as well as the Agricultural Law Section of the Idaho State Bar.

Speakers

The speakers for the tax and estate/business planning track are as follows: 

Day 1:  Roger McEowen, Paul Neiffer and a representative from the IRS Criminal Investigation Division.

Day 2:  Roger McEowen; Paul Neiffer; Allan Bosch; and Jonas Hemenway.

The speakers for the ag law track are as follows:

Day 1:  Roger McEowen; Cody Hendrix; Hayden Ballard; Damien Schiff; aand Joseph Pirtle.

Day 2:  Roger McEowen; Joel Anderson; Kristi Running; Aaron Golladay; Richard Seamon; and Kelly Stevenson

Who Should Attend

Anyone that represents farmers and ranchers in tax planning and preparation, financial planning, legal services and/or agribusiness would find the conference well worth the time.  Students attend at a much-reduced fee and should contact me personally or, if you are from Idaho, contract Prof. Rich Seamon (also one of the speakers) at the University of Idaho College of Law.  The networking at the conference will be a big benefit to students in connecting with practitioners from rural areas. 

As noted above, if you aren’t able to attend in-person, attendance is also possible online. 

Sponsorship

If your business would be interested in sponsoring the conference or an aspect of it, please contact me.  Sponsorship dollars help make a conference like this possible and play an important role in the training of new lawyers for rural areas to represent farmers and ranchers, tax practitioners in rural areas as well as legislators. 

For more information about the Idaho conferences and to register, click here: 

Farm Income Tax/Estate and Business Planning Track:  https://www.washburnlaw.edu/employers/cle/farmandranchtaxaugust.html

Ag Law Track:  https://www.washburnlaw.edu/employers/cle/idahoaglaw.html