Industries / Agriculture
Where the work
never waits
Accounting for farms, ranches, and dairies. The books, the tax timing, and the payroll stay current through planting, harvest, and everything between.
See How We Help
Agriculture Problem
The herd and the harvest
do not wait on the books.
A dairy milks every day of the year. Ranch and livestock work runs through every season, and crops need water, protection from changing weather, and a crew ready at harvest. Underneath all of it, payroll still has to go out, the line of credit still needs watching, and the books still have to close every month.
Books kept current
Approved invoices paid, bank reconciliations, receivables and payables, line of credit monitoring, and monthly statements delivered when you want them.
Tax planning upfront
Upfront, proactive tax strategy and entity structuring set before year end, not after the fact.
Succession and estate
Succession plans, plus the estate tax and gifting strategies that carry an operation to the next generation on the ground.
Management advisory
Debt restructuring, lease and purchase analysis, government program assistance, and enterprise crop cost accounting.
Cooper Norman Approach
From the parlor and the field
to one working plan.
- Get the books, payroll, and monthly close current
- Connect tax strategy to entity structure
- Weigh land, machinery, lease, and government program decisions with real numbers
- Put succession on paper before ownership changes hands
Result
Time back for the herd, the ground,
and the next generation.
In Idaho, about 25,000 farms and ranches work 11.8 million acres and produce over 185 different types of commodities, and no two of those operations run on the same calendar. Cooper Norman has handled the financial side of agriculture since 1954, now from six offices across Idaho and Utah, for families who have farmed the same ground for generations and for first-generation owners still building theirs.
Frequently
asked
questions
How do I find a farm accountant near me in Idaho or Utah?
Who needs an agriculture accountant?
Any operation that lives under agriculture: a dairy, a ranch, a row crop farm, a livestock operation. Finances are a complicated piece of the business, and an accountant who works in agriculture every day keeps them current while your attention stays on the operation.
Do you work with dairies?
Yes. Dairy work sits alongside ranching, livestock, and crop operations in our agriculture practice. A dairy runs every day of the year, which makes current books, steady payroll, and a tax plan set ahead of time matter even more.
Why Cooper Norman for agriculture accounting?
We have served farm and ranch families since 1954 from offices across Idaho and Utah. Whether you are a first-generation owner or the tenth generation on the same ground, you work with advisors who know the rhythms of the operation and want it to keep going.
What does bookkeeping cover?
Paying approved invoices, bank account reconciliations, receivables and payables management, monitoring the line of credit, and monthly statements if you want them.
Can you run payroll, including H-2A workers?
Yes. Paychecks go out correctly and on time each payday. We handle the monthly, quarterly, and yearly filings, and we assist with H-2A and e-verify.
Do you prepare financial statements?
Yes. Cash and accrual basis statements, audits, reviews, and compilations, fair market value statements when a transaction occurs, and budget-to-actual comparisons so you can see how the year is tracking.
Can you help with estate and succession planning?
Yes. Many operations pass within the family, and the handoff goes better when it is planned early. We build succession plans and the estate tax and gifting approaches that go with them.
What do consulting and advisory services include?
Business management and planning, debt restructuring, analysis of lease and purchase agreements, government program assistance, enterprise crop cost accounting, and help buying, selling, and trading farmland and machinery.
Who leads this work
Blake Johnson, CPA
Managing Partner, Chair of Food and Agriculture Industry
Blake Johnson, the firm's managing partner, chairs the food and agriculture industry group.
Insights
Reading for
farm and ag owners
Practical notes on the decisions that reach our desk most often.
160+ArticlesRead the journalPACA Trust Compliance for Idaho and Utah Produce Handlers
PACA trust rights put unpaid produce sellers ahead of secured lenders when a buyer fails. Here's what Idaho and Utah produce handlers need to…
View DetailsMinority Interest Discounts in Family Farm and Ranch Transfers
Well-structured farm LLC gifts qualify for lack-of-control and lack-of-marketability discounts. Here's what makes them hold up when the IRS looks close.
View DetailsLivestock Inventory Methods: Unit-Livestock-Price vs. Farm-Price
Two IRS-accepted methods value raised livestock differently, and the choice moves reported income for years. Here's how Idaho and Utah operations should choose.
View Details