In Mid-June, Citizens State Bank held our first agriculture seminar of 2025. In a world where information is at our fingertips, it can often become overwhelming to know where to look and who to trust. As your trusted financial partner for all things AG banking, we hope to simplify this feeling by bringing in trusted and reputable individuals for our customers, to utilize their knowledge and experience on different industry topics. For our June seminar, we focused on estate planning and a grain market update.
Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning
The presentation started with attorney Abigayle Endress, with Elliot, Trainor, and Weller, P.C. Abigayle grew up on a beef and grain farm before graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earning her Juris Doctor from Drake University Law School in 2023.
In the world of estate planning, laws and regulations are always changing for tax benefits and best practices. Every situation is unique for what will best represent the needs of your operation. Abigayle walked our customers and producers through a few different scenarios and explained the importance of having a trusted and knowledgeable attorney on your operations team. They walked away with the knowledge of several different estate planning options, to begin having conversations with their families, if they have not already.
There are currently several bills on the table at the state level that could change the estate arrangements for many individuals. Abigayle and her team at Elliott, Trainor, and Weller are sure to keep their producers updated and informed of changes that could benefit their operations.
Market Update
Ag Trader Talk’s, Garret Toay, presented the second half of the seminar with a conversation many were anticipating. With crop prices being significantly lower in 2025 than we have seen in the past several growing seasons, many are wondering what the best move to make is. Garrett guided our producers through the many different factors that go into the global market of grain trading, and what that means for the crop in our back yards. While there are no exact steps to follow to ensure the highest grain prices, finding your break-even and bottom-dollar helps significantly ease the stress of what the balance sheet will look like at the end of the year.
CSB will be hosting another seminar later this year and we would love to see you there. Please reach out to your AG lender, or give Kenzie Holste, Kellie White, or Penny Westwood a call at (815)369-4524 to have your name added to the invite list!
