gator, find a good accountant. i have about 55 acres, with a 4 acre pond. i use it as a farm expense...so fertilizer, seed, mowing, tractor, kawasaki mule, 4 wheeler, on those toys you are going to buy anyway are deductible to some extent. fencing, dozing, etc also. now, don't go out and buy 50k worth of trucks and toys just so you can say "well if i don't spend the money, uncle sam will get it". that is not the way it goes. a lot of people say that, but it really is not that smart. however, if you plan on having an expense of some sort anyway (hunting property with toys...4wheelers, seeding plots, fertilizer, etc..) then find a way to use it as a farm. also, the more property you have the more reasonable cows are. if you have a smaller piece of property...5-50 acres...you may find that horses may be a better "livestock" option. i...am scared to death of horses, and don't want any...but if you really like them...that may be an avenue for you to pursue. they are hard work though...and you really have to want them.
find yourself a good accountant/cpa... take what we all say with a grain of salt, and listen to a professional cpa that you can trust.
i believe the irs has, in the past, been somewhat "leniant" on farmers...so check into the farm situation.
also, ask your accountant about bartaring and farming (i.e. you provide 10k worth of property use/feeding to someone, and they provide 10k worth of fence improvements, seeding, dozing etc...) these are all possibilities that could add expenses/losses withouth really exchanging any money.
....or something like that!!
mark
