Turmoil in the office, figuring depreciation is taxing, Farmer Chef Connection

The office reorganization is in full swing. I ordered a new desk for Ruth, bought another bookshelf, and picked up file cabinet. We set up the bookshelf and stuffed it with books, catalogs, and piles needing further sorting. We still need to organize the books in some fashion. The desk arrived yesterday, but we needed to take a pause to get some bookkeeping done. Got to pay those bills on time.

I’ve been working through the costs & benefits of getting the organic certification. I’ll discuss this more later.

Carol & I spent last Saturday finalizing the farm depreciation tables for 2005. We made a number of equipment changes last year. We sold our original JD corn planter to Kathy Whitbeck, our original Assistant Farm Manager, who has her own farm in Othello, WA. We bought the Rain Flo bed-former with plastic layer option, the 1952 Ford 8N tractor, a mower to fit the small Kubota tractor, and our new big farmstand tent. We refit a greenhouse as our transplants house, and had a wagon chassis torn down and rebuilt as our hayride wagon. All these items had different depreciation issues. Every farm family should include an accountant and tax expert.

Our "new" 1952 Ford 8N tractor and hayride wagon fill with excited riders ready for a tour of the farm.

Yesterday I went to the Farmer Chef Connection meeting in Seattle. As I mentioned in the last entry, The Farmer Chef Connection is an organization working to help farmers and chefs better understand each others’ needs and constraints and to give them a chance to meet and possibly forge business relationships. About 240 people came. The number of interested farmers and chefs investing the day in the first-ever event in Seattle both surprised and pleased the organizers, who started the program a few years back in Portland. There were talks, panels, and workshops ranging from the nuts & bolts basic issues and how-tos to the inspirational. We went through a sort of speed-dating session where farmers and chefs paired up for a brief introduction and then went on to the next person. One highlight of the day was lunch prepared by volunteer chefs, created from food donated by local farmers. Some of the biggest issues discussed included communication of needs and expectations, matching restaurant supply needs with farmers’ ability to produce, and cost-effective delivery of the produce. However, it is clear that there are a number of chefs committed to using the best, freshest, and most flavorful ingredients, that they have found that the best source is local farmers, and that there are plenty of chefs and farmers willing to work to overcome the obstacles.

What’s playing in the Jeep CD player today? Chanticleer – Out of This World