|
Post by benmnwi on Dec 11, 2023 13:32:47 GMT -6
I’m happy they were able to tell me what is available for cost share and what is not. I’m having my bulldozer guy come out there tomorrow to see if it would be best to dig out the two old ponds this week or wait until next summer. It is dry now, but the frost in the ground could complicate things. Digging out the two old silted in ponds and cleaning out old logging roads aren’t covered by the nrcs work, so I’m likely going ahead with that on my own. I want to have all this stuff done right, so hopefully if it is done right now I won’t have to mess around with it much in future years. Make sure you get approval from the soil and water office before any pond digging or cleaning. Unfortunately they can cause you all sorts of problems if those spots are deemed wetlands and home to a toad we never heard about. The NRCS said there aren't any cost share projects to clean out old silted in ponds, so everyone cleans them out on their own. I guess the county has a massive waiting list, but that's on the bottom of the priority list for funding, so it rarely gets funded by them. She said I'm good to go. My bulldozer guy looked at my place on Saturday and he is hoping to get out next week to dig them out if the weather cooperates (pretty crazy to think it is possible to clean out a pond in mid December). I'm hoping to minimize my spending on the pond projects, so at this point I'll be happy with more watering holes than ponds. There are some nice areas for ground blinds next to these dry pond areas, so I'm going to put some of the spoils on about a 10-20 yard wide strip on the edge of the old pond. I'll plant a clover mix around the edge of the pond and hopefully that will create a solid early season bow stand in each location. Based on old aerial photos, one pond was once about 1/8 acre and one was about 2/3 acre. The NRCS did mention that before they draw up their erosion control project, they will look for evidence of indian settlement on my place. I'd love to find an indian arrowhead, just not out there on that day.
|
|
|
Post by MoBuckChaser on Dec 11, 2023 13:38:45 GMT -6
Make sure you get approval from the soil and water office before any pond digging or cleaning. Unfortunately they can cause you all sorts of problems if those spots are deemed wetlands and home to a toad we never heard about. The NRCS said there aren't any cost share projects to clean out old silted in ponds, so everyone cleans them out on their own. I guess the county has a massive waiting list, but that's on the bottom of the priority list for funding, so it rarely gets funded by them. She said I'm good to go. My bulldozer guy looked at my place on Saturday and he is hoping to get out next week to dig them out if the weather cooperates (pretty crazy to think it is possible to clean out a pond in mid December). I'm hoping to minimize my spending on the pond projects, so at this point I'll be happy with more watering holes than ponds. There are some nice areas for ground blinds next to these dry pond areas, so I'm going to put some of the spoils on about a 10-20 yard wide strip on the edge of the old pond. I'll plant a clover mix around the edge of the pond and hopefully that will create a solid early season bow stand in each location. Based on old aerial photos, one pond was once about 1/8 acre and one was about 2/3 acre. The NRCS did mention that before they draw up their erosion control project, they will look for evidence of indian settlement on my place. I'd love to find an indian arrowhead, just not out there on that day. Nice the NRCS lady said you are good to go on cleaning or digging out your ponds. But I would check with the soil and water office and the Mn DNR to keep in compliance with them. Edit: make sure you get your 1026 form from NRCS. That way no one can question the work you are doing.
|
|
|
Post by badgerfowl on Dec 11, 2023 15:47:44 GMT -6
Make sure you get approval from the soil and water office before any pond digging or cleaning. Unfortunately they can cause you all sorts of problems if those spots are deemed wetlands and home to a toad we never heard about. The NRCS said there aren't any cost share projects to clean out old silted in ponds, so everyone cleans them out on their own. I guess the county has a massive waiting list, but that's on the bottom of the priority list for funding, so it rarely gets funded by them. She said I'm good to go. My bulldozer guy looked at my place on Saturday and he is hoping to get out next week to dig them out if the weather cooperates (pretty crazy to think it is possible to clean out a pond in mid December). I'm hoping to minimize my spending on the pond projects, so at this point I'll be happy with more watering holes than ponds. There are some nice areas for ground blinds next to these dry pond areas, so I'm going to put some of the spoils on about a 10-20 yard wide strip on the edge of the old pond. I'll plant a clover mix around the edge of the pond and hopefully that will create a solid early season bow stand in each location. Based on old aerial photos, one pond was once about 1/8 acre and one was about 2/3 acre. The NRCS did mention that before they draw up their erosion control project, they will look for evidence of indian settlement on my place. I'd love to find an indian arrowhead, just not out there on that day. It'd be cool to find an arrowhead but sometimes those things can derail a project so I'd not hope too much for that.
|
|
|
Post by MoBuckChaser on Dec 11, 2023 15:52:15 GMT -6
The NRCS said there aren't any cost share projects to clean out old silted in ponds, so everyone cleans them out on their own. I guess the county has a massive waiting list, but that's on the bottom of the priority list for funding, so it rarely gets funded by them. She said I'm good to go. My bulldozer guy looked at my place on Saturday and he is hoping to get out next week to dig them out if the weather cooperates (pretty crazy to think it is possible to clean out a pond in mid December). I'm hoping to minimize my spending on the pond projects, so at this point I'll be happy with more watering holes than ponds. There are some nice areas for ground blinds next to these dry pond areas, so I'm going to put some of the spoils on about a 10-20 yard wide strip on the edge of the old pond. I'll plant a clover mix around the edge of the pond and hopefully that will create a solid early season bow stand in each location. Based on old aerial photos, one pond was once about 1/8 acre and one was about 2/3 acre. The NRCS did mention that before they draw up their erosion control project, they will look for evidence of indian settlement on my place. I'd love to find an indian arrowhead, just not out there on that day. It'd be cool to find an arrowhead but sometimes those things can derail a project so I'd not hope too much for that. Roger that! Farmer I worked with at the livestock barn plowed up a Mace on his farm by Milaca Mn. Told his kid to throw it as far as he could in the swamp. He did not want his whole farm excavated like a historical sight.
|
|
|
Post by benmnwi on Dec 11, 2023 19:08:08 GMT -6
My bulldozer guy understands there will be no reporting of any Indian stuff in the unlikely chance something would come up. I pay him the day he does his work and give him quite a bit of business over the years, so knows that would be bad for business.
He could find king tut’s tomb and not tell anyone.
|
|
|
Post by benmnwi on Dec 13, 2023 12:15:14 GMT -6
When you guys had your NRCS projects completed on your property, did you have to pay taxes on the cost of the work paid for by the NRCS?
I was talking to a friend last night who had an erosion control pond build last year. It was a 90/10 cost share and the total was approximately $40,000 so they had to pay $4000 out of pocket. Then at tax time, they received a W2 form stating that they had to pay taxes on the $36k county portion of the work.
They aren't actively farming their land, they just rent out their tillable. He was told that if they were actively farming the land they may not have been taxed like that. They weren't happy that nobody from the NRCS mentioned they would have a pretty big tax bill on top of the agreed to 10% they were required to pay. I don't know the total amount, but he said he wishes he never did the project after that bill.
Anyone else familiar with this type of issue?
|
|
|
Post by MoBuckChaser on Dec 13, 2023 12:17:12 GMT -6
When you guys had your NRCS projects completed on your property, did you have to pay taxes on the cost of the work paid for by the NRCS? I was talking to a friend last night who had an erosion control pond build last year. It was a 90/10 cost share and the total was approximately $40,000 so they had to pay $4000 out of pocket. Then at tax time, they received a W2 form stating that they had to pay taxes on the $36k county portion of the work. They aren't actively farming their land, they just rent out their tillable. He was told that if they were actively farming the land they may not have been taxed like that. They weren't happy that nobody from the NRCS mentioned they would have a pretty big tax bill on top of the agreed to 10% they were required to pay. I don't know the total amount, but he said he wishes he never did the project after that bill. Anyone else familiar with this type of issue? You will or should get a 1099 from NRCS, or CCC.
|
|
|
Post by benmnwi on Dec 13, 2023 12:21:18 GMT -6
When you guys had your NRCS projects completed on your property, did you have to pay taxes on the cost of the work paid for by the NRCS? I was talking to a friend last night who had an erosion control pond build last year. It was a 90/10 cost share and the total was approximately $40,000 so they had to pay $4000 out of pocket. Then at tax time, they received a W2 form stating that they had to pay taxes on the $36k county portion of the work. They aren't actively farming their land, they just rent out their tillable. He was told that if they were actively farming the land they may not have been taxed like that. They weren't happy that nobody from the NRCS mentioned they would have a pretty big tax bill on top of the agreed to 10% they were required to pay. I don't know the total amount, but he said he wishes he never did the project after that bill. Anyone else familiar with this type of issue? You will or should get a 1099 from NRCS, or CCC. Does that mean you will be taxed on the amount of work the NRCS pays for at the rate your regular income is taxed? Or is that taxed at some other rate?
|
|
|
Post by MoBuckChaser on Dec 13, 2023 12:26:52 GMT -6
You will or should get a 1099 from NRCS, or CCC. Does that mean you will be taxed on the amount of work the NRCS pays for at the rate your regular income is taxed? Or is that taxed at some other rate? The NRCS office will report to the IRS your 1099-G form. Some programs are not taxed, some partially taxed and some fully taxed as ordinary income. Keep any and all receipts, mileage or anything you can think of to write off against the project if it is taxed.
|
|
|
Post by MoBuckChaser on Dec 13, 2023 12:28:57 GMT -6
Remember, you are getting free money. Don’t let paying some tax stop you from doing your projects.
|
|
|
Post by benmnwi on Dec 13, 2023 12:38:52 GMT -6
Remember, you are getting free money. Don’t let paying some tax stop you from doing your projects. I agree, I just want to make sure I know what to expect up front since this is all new to me. But there is no question that adding a couple of ponds will increase the property value. My friend's property had an old dam that had filled in with silt over the years and the dam was starting to fail. They just wanted a watering hole for the deer, which they likely could have got for a couple grand of excavator time. They went with the NRCS route, which got them a really nice dam but they put the culvert at ground level so it didn't hold any water. They didn't catch that in the design approval stage. Then they had to get approval to go back and dig a hole deeper so it actually held water in one small area 30 yards in front of the dam. Still a good deal for $4k, but he implied the bonus tax amount was around an additional $10k which was more than he would pay for a watering hole. I was really happy to hear that story when I talked to him last night though, so at least I now know that I need to ask more questions.
|
|
|
Post by MoBuckChaser on Dec 13, 2023 12:41:52 GMT -6
Remember, you are getting free money. Don’t let paying some tax stop you from doing your projects. I agree, I just want to make sure I know what to expect up front since this is all new to me. But there is no question that adding a couple of ponds will increase the property value. My friend's property had an old dam that had filled in with silt over the years and the dam was starting to fail. They just wanted a watering hole for the deer, which they likely could have got for a couple grand of excavator time. They went with the NRCS route, which got them a really nice dam but they put the culvert at ground level so it didn't hold any water. They didn't catch that in the design approval stage. Then they had to get approval to go back and dig a hole deeper so it actually held water in one small area 30 yards in front of the dam. Still a good deal for $4k, but he implied the bonus tax amount was around an additional $10k which was more than he would pay for a watering hole. I was really happy to hear that story when I talked to him last night though, so at least I now know that I need to ask more questions. You very much need to ask questions. Don’t just trust some 21 year old girl at the NRCS office. I would talk to your CPA also.
|
|
|
Post by MoBuckChaser on Jan 12, 2024 8:54:04 GMT -6
It’s been four weeks since the last post. Anything happened in your quest for your cost share program?
|
|
|
Post by benmnwi on Jan 12, 2024 12:27:47 GMT -6
It’s been four weeks since the last post. Anything happened in your quest for your cost share program? The wheels of government move slow and apparently they get a lot of time off over the holidays. The next step was to have them bring out the area's archeologist to check for indian burial grounds and who knows what else. I was on the back side of my property with my bulldozer guy the day that guy came out to check out the proposed work area on the front side of the place. My dad was there and talked to the guy, but he didn't really say anything one way or the other. I was able to find an old aerial photo online of my place from 1950 and there were some old farm buildings in the proposed pond areas, so I'd be shocked if they found any indian sign there. I emailed my NRCS contact a week later and she said she hadn't heard anything back from the archeologist before he had time off over the holidays. She also didn't hear anything back on my sodbuster application to take a few acres of old pasture ground back into production. She didn't know when they would have answers on either of those questions, so for now I just wait. She said there is a decent backlog on those types of projects, so I likely won't get anything new pond work done for at least a year. But I was still hoping to hear back whether or not my proposed areas are even eligible to get on the waiting list. I'm happy they were able to get the field site visits and inspection done before the arrival of winter, so hopefully they have everything they need. I really have no idea how long it will take for them to get back to me though. I'm hoping they get back to me on the sodbuster approval though since I need to line up a renter for next year and I want to make sure I have the exact acreage by then.
|
|
|
Post by MoBuckChaser on Jan 12, 2024 12:35:58 GMT -6
It’s been four weeks since the last post. Anything happened in your quest for your cost share program? The wheels of government move slow and apparently they get a lot of time off over the holidays. The next step was to have them bring out the area's archeologist to check for indian burial grounds and who knows what else. I was on the back side of my property with my bulldozer guy the day that guy came out to check out the proposed work area on the front side of the place. My dad was there and talked to the guy, but he didn't really say anything one way or the other. I was able to find an old aerial photo online of my place from 1950 and there were some old farm buildings in the proposed pond areas, so I'd be shocked if they found any indian sign there. I emailed my NRCS contact a week later and she said she hadn't heard anything back from the archeologist before he had time off over the holidays. She also didn't hear anything back on my sodbuster application to take a few acres of old pasture ground back into production. She didn't know when they would have answers on either of those questions, so for now I just wait. She said there is a decent backlog on those types of projects, so I likely won't get anything new pond work done for at least a year. But I was still hoping to hear back whether or not my proposed areas are even eligible to get on the waiting list. I'm happy they were able to get the field site visits and inspection done before the arrival of winter, so hopefully they have everything they need. I really have no idea how long it will take for them to get back to me though. I'm hoping they get back to me on the sodbuster approval though since I need to line up a renter for next year and I want to make sure I have the exact acreage by then. I can tell you this. I had an erosion problem about ten years back. Called out soil and water, told them what I needed to do and let them take over. For one week that is. I called up to the office and the gal said it would be at least a year before the committee looks at it. That’s all I needed to know. I did the project the following week. Still have not heard one word from them in ten years. Sometimes you just have to take the bull by the horns yourself.
|
|