With last week’s beautiful fall weather, it’s hard to believe that just one year ago farmers and rancher were still reeling from the effect of Atlas, the most devastating blizzard in decades to hit western South Dakota and the Black Hills. The storm rolled in from Wyoming during the first week of October and dumped nearly 3 feet of heavy, wet snow.

Tens of thousand of cattle, sheep and other livestock perished in the October 2013 blizzard. (We saw one estimate that put the loss at more than 70,000 animals.) Because they lost cows and other breeding stock, these ranchers will suffer lost income for years.

For this and other reasons, farmers and ranchers need to be doing more tax planning than usual this year, according to a recent KT Addition newsletter story by Michael Finnegan and Peter Bergman, Rapid City CPAs and partners in Ketel Thorstenson LLP.

When Congress finally passed the 2014 Farm Bill, it included catch-up provisions for 2012 and 2013. The bill also provided for payments due to losses from Atlas. In other words, ranchers and farmers have three years of income to report in 2014.

There are tax considerations for replacing livestock, deferring crop insurance proceeds, income averaging and more. Check out the full article on the website or in the upcoming Fall KT ADDITION, hitting mailboxes this week.