July 16 will be the final day to timely report planted acres to the Farm Service Agency.

Many producers have replanted “failed” acres; these can be reported as replanted. For other producers that are double cropping following barley, wheat or rye, the acreage report will indicate the second crop for the double crop acres.

Acreage reports can be as accurate as producers want, some report exactly to the tenth thanks to the GPS monitors installed on their equipment.

Planting dates are needed for all fields reported except for CREP fields or pasture. Acreages and land uses reported are spot-checked to ensure the report filed is in compliance with tolerance standards established by FSA. Aerial photos from 2010 make reporting easier than when we used the old outdated paper aerial photos. The new photos are taken from a satellite and are generally in color which helps producers determine which field they are reporting. Producers that want their photographs mailed out to complete at home should call FSA soon so they can be returned by the July 16 deadline.

Farm Inheritance TaxLandmark legislation signed into law makes it easier for Pennsylvania farms to transition between generations without a death tax.Legislation signed into law last week by Gov. Tom Corbett resolves a longstanding burden for transferring farms from one generation to the next. The Pennsylvania inheritance tax has been a burden on farm families for decades. This law provides farmers the opportunity to save thousands of dollars in inheritance tax, allowing them to reinvest in their agricultural operations.The tax code changes take effect immediately and apply only to working farms. One provision exempts the passage of farm assets from a deceased individual to close family members who continue the farm operation from inheritance taxation — death taxes.Now, adult children of deceased farmers won’t be required to pay a 4.5 percent inheritance tax. And brothers and sisters of the deceased won’t be required to pay a 12 percent inheritance tax.That tax was especially challenging for farmers, who typically have low cash reserves but need large amounts of land for their operations. When farmers are forced to sell off assets or farmland to pay off inheritance taxes, it reduces the productivity of the farm and threatens its future viability, he explains.Another change exempts farm property from realty transfer taxation that’s part of the reorganization of a family owned farm business to a limited partnership, limited liability partnership or a corporation managed by the same family.Luke Fritz is executive director of the Butler County Farm Service Agency.