Nebraska Department of Agriculture Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Training

Nebraska Extension and the Center for Agricultural Profitability offer a course designed to assist farmers and ranchers with understanding financial record-keeping and planning that been approved as a tax credit training course by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture for producers taking part in the NextGen program.

The tax credit training course is the only online asynchronous certification available to agricultural producers in Nebraska. It is geared toward established producers who own agricultural assets and are interested in earning tax credits through rental agreements with new and beginning farmers as part of the NextGen program.

NextGen is administered by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture to help beginning farmers and agricultural asset owners take advantage of Nebraska’s Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Act, which offers state income tax credit to asset owners who enter into a three-year rental agreement with a beginning farmer. Eligible assets include agricultural land, livestock, buildings, and machinery. 

The training course is a five-part, 15-hour program designed to help participants strengthen their financial and operational management skills. The curriculum covers topics like goal setting, risk management, and financial planning. By the end of the course, participants will be equipped to set specific farming or ranching goals, understand key financial documents, and use them to make sound business decisions. Participants have one year to complete the course and receive a certificate of completion.

The program is available through NU Advance, the University of Nebraska’s course delivery platform for online non-credit and professional development offerings. Jessica Groskopf, a Nebraska Extension educator and course instructor, said this allows for a dynamic learning experience on desktop and mobile devices, making course content like videos, discussion boards, and activities more accessible for borrowers who need to satisfy the terms of their loans.

“The Nebraska Department of Ag requires asset owners to complete financial management training as part of their NextGen tax credit program and we are excited to offer this course, which allows participants the flexibility to complete it at their own pace over the course of a year, whenever and wherever they can,” Groskopf said. “We’re glad to be able to offer this as the only such online course with that sort of flexibility for producers in Nebraska.”

Each of the five modules includes interactive content and case studies that guide participants through critical aspects of agricultural business management:

• Module 1 – Goal Setting & Record Keeping: Participants learn effective goal-setting techniques and explore key accounting concepts, such as cash vs. accrual accounting, and record reconciliation.
   
• Module 2 – Balance Sheet Construction and Analysis: This module focuses on building and analyzing balance sheets, with an emphasis on financial ratios like working capital and debt-to-asset ratios.
   
• Module 3 – Cash Flow & Income Statements: Participants gain insight into cash flow management, budgeting, and income statement development, including accrual adjustments.
   
• Module 4 – Taxes: This session introduces farm taxation basics.
   
• Module 5 – Case Study: The program concludes with a comprehensive case study, allowing participants to apply their learning by conducting a financial assessment of their own operation or a simulated case study farm.

More information about the Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s NextGen program and the Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Act are available at https://nextgen.nebraska.gov.

The registration fee for the course is $300. Enrollment can be completed by clicking the "Register" button:

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