Edition #46

January 11, 2025

Good morning and welcome to the Braintrust Ag newsletter. Where we keep you curled up in the warmth of your house, reading words, rather than outside shoveling snow.

If someone forwarded you this email, subscribe here. We send regular resources for farmers and ranchers to grow and transition their operations.

At a Glance…

• ❗ Big Idea → Farm Contingency Planning

• 💡 Crowd Sourced Ideas

• 🎢 CTA Rollercoaster

• 📅 Happenings

• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Personal Updates

THE BIG IDEA - Pro Manager Series

Farm Contingency Planning

Farming families often rely heavily on the expertise and knowledge of key individuals, making unexpected events particularly challenging. One family faced this reality when their son, the central figure in their 3,000-acre corn and soybean operation, sustained a serious head injury. With no contingency plan or detailed records of the son’s responsibilities, the semi-retired father found himself scrambling to manage the harvest. While neighbors and extended family provided invaluable support, the bottleneck remained accessing the critical knowledge stored only in the son’s mind—a stark reminder of the importance of documenting processes and preparing for unforeseen circumstances.

A similar situation arose for a family friend who, as a graduate student living 600 miles away, had to return home after her father’s sudden passing. As the planting season loomed, she and her mother faced the dual challenge of grief and managing the 1,500-acre farm. Though the local community rallied to help with planting, they were left to navigate the intricacies of farm operations without the benefit of organized records. These stories highlight the risks of relying on unwritten knowledge and underscore the need for contingency planning to ensure continuity in the face of life’s uncertainties.

Read more about why having a robust contingency plan is essential for farm operations and how to create one here ⤵️

Corporate Transparency Act Rollercoaster

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting (BOIR) requirements are starting to feel like that on-again, off-again college relationship…

Here’s the latest: The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated the nationwide preliminary injunction, meaning you are not currently required to file your BOIR. For now, procrastination wins again.

Let’s recap this whirlwind:

1. Enforcement was halted. In December, a U.S. district court judge ruled the CTA “likely unconstitutional,” granting a nationwide preliminary injunction that halts its enforcement.

2. The injunction was lifted. Two weeks later, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s ruling and reinstated the federal government’s ability to enforce the CTA. This meant reporting companies were back on the hook to file their BOIRs.

3. The injunction is back. A few days later, the same court reversed course again, reinstating the injunction and halting enforcement of the CTA nationwide.

4. Where does this leave us?

   • No one is required to file BOIRs right now.

   • FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) hasn’t announced any new deadlines yet.

   • The federal government is likely to appeal this ruling, so things could change quickly.

What Should You Do?

Even though there’s no current filing requirement, don’t get too comfortable. While the CTA’s fate is still tied up in court, it’s a good idea to gather your ownership information and be prepared. When (or if) this law becomes enforceable again, the deadlines will likely remain tight. Failing to comply, once required, could lead to steep fines or criminal charges.

Why Does This Matter?

The stated purpose of the CTA is to crack down on money laundering and terrorism financing. That’s why even small LLCs and family businesses are caught in the net. There’s no exemption for agriculture or small entities.

For now, enjoy the pause. But keep your eyes on this situation—it’s likely to change again. Reach out to your financial or legal professional for up-to-date information.

Brain Trust Ag Community Updates

If you’re not a member, join our agriculture peer group community.

Sign up & receive a 7-day free trial.

*Exciting improvements and changes are coming to the peer group community in 2025. Stay tuned for more updates!

What’s Happening?

A true highlight of my past year has been growing spiritually and building meaningful connections with other men and women in agriculture each Wednesday morning.

In 2025, making time for personal growth and spiritual development with this inspiring group is a priority.

Starting January 15th, we’ll dive into The Parables of Jesus: A 12-Week Study by Douglas Sean O'Donnell, a thoughtful exploration of Jesus’ timeless lessons.

Join us every Wednesday morning at 6:30 AM CST for Sunrise Sessions — a welcoming small group focused on Bible study, leadership training, personal development, and mental fitness.

Whether you’re seeking inspiration, camaraderie, or practical advice, this is the perfect space to grow together.

Come as you are, participate at your pace, and take these lessons into your own life. Let’s start this new season strong. Everyone is welcome. Join us!

Here’s a link to the Events Calendar

We’re working on building out a more consistent and thorough event schedule for 2025, including SOIL Gatherings, Expert Q&A’s, Special Events, and more. Stay tuned as we roll out upcoming events!

From Clint

Over the past couple years, starting Braintrust Ag has been an incredible journey — not just professionally, but personally. It’s given me the chance to meet some truly remarkable people who have shaped my path in ways I couldn’t have anticipated.

On the home front, my wife and I welcomed our fourth child (and first son!) to our family in November, making this a time of both growth and transition. As we navigate this phase of change, it’s brought along other types of change as well… and I’m reminded how grateful I am for the people who’ve been in my corner, offering support, guidance, and friendship.

It’s in moments like these that I think back to the conversations that have shaped my decisions, like one I had recently…

On a hot, muggy August day I strolled into the local café. As the door banged shut behind me and my eyes adjusted from the bright sunlight to the almost hazy atmosphere of the restaurant, I peered at the vinyl booths lined up against the back wall. It only took a quick scan to find what I was looking for – a gentleman in his 60’s with a neatly trimmed mustache and stark gray crew cut hair.

He raised his hand as he caught my eye, and with a quick nod I headed over his way. As I approached, he stood up and extended his hand with a firm handshake. With a genuine smile and a twinkle in his eye he said, “Hey Clint, good to see you, man.”

“Dale, thanks so much for meeting with me,” I replied.

You see, Dale is a prominent figure in our community, and specifically our church, and I’d gotten to know him over the past few years. He’s a man I truly respect and admire; as much for his business savvy and experience as his leadership and character as a Godly man.

Dale leads the men’s group at our church in addition to being an incredibly successful entrepreneur and business owner. I’d had the pleasure of meeting with him a handful of times before, and always found his counsel to be wise and useful. He’s got an effective way of cutting straight to the heart of an issue and offering advice that, while not always what I wanted to hear - what I needed to hear.

“What did you want to talk about?” he asked.

I had tons of things I wanted his advice on: from growing in my faith, to marriage, to parenting, to business war stories, to accountability, to a plethora of other issues.

But, the reason I texted him to ask for this sit-down was career related.

As background to you, the reader, I graduated college with an Ag Business degree and spent 10 years managing various ag retail locations… feed, seed, fertilizer, etc. In 2019 I was managing a local fertilizer outlet and looked up one day thinking “I don’t want to be doing this in 20 years.” I couldn’t shake what my friend had done – went to law school in his 30’s and now has a law practice + farms hundreds of acres.

My ever supportive wife knew I desired a change, but we had one daughter and one on the way. After lengthy discussions and budgeting, we agreed I’d go to law school (while still working full-time) and pursue this right-angle path.

I’ll summarize the next few years: law school; Covid; full-time job + side gigs (debt free is important to us); wife & 2 kids (plus more on the way); failed bar exam; personal challenges; ag business consulting gig; etc.

Fast forward to 2023, I passed the bar exam and began working at a local “general practice” law firm.

Back to his question of what I wanted to talk to him about… I’d been practicing law for an exceptional firm, doing a little bit of everything (as is expected in small town general practice firms), but my true passion was helping farmers, ranchers, and Main Street business owners with succession/estate planning.

Plus my entrepreneurial brain wouldn’t stop spinning.

I told Dale, “I think I want to hang up my own shingle.” (in other words, start my own firm).

“Why?” he asked.

“Well, because I’m passionate about farm and business succession planning, estate planning, real estate, contracts, corporate law, etc.” (basically transactional work) “But ideally I’d have experienced people, tools, and resources behind me to assist in this work.”

His response stuck with me:

“Ok. That’s a lot of areas of the law… You were on a couple National Championship football teams in college, right?” Dale asked. “Think back to the regular season and the playoffs… during the regular season, each team is ordinary – and throughout the season the cream rises to the top. The winning programs create separation from the ordinary teams. Then the playoffs happen and those teams that make it are excellent.

But how many teams would you call ‘elite’? Maybe the two that play for a National Championship? For sure the winning team, I mean they’re the top in the nation.

Those elite teams & players focus on football excellence. They’re not also concerned about the upcoming basketball or track season. They’re specialized.”

He explained that he views personal/career development in much the same way.

He said, “You have the brains and gumption to be elite, excellent, or ordinary. It’s your choice. You may be able to be excellent in a number of practice areas, but I doubt you’ll be elite. Also, keep in mind that your highest calling is to be a Godly man of integrity for your wife, kids (4) and church community. Those shouldn’t suffer for career/business prowess.”

Note taken, Dale.

If I’m striving to be elite, it’s not going to happen with 5-10 legal practice areas.

I may be able to be ordinary at 5-10 legal practice areas.

I may be able to be excellent at 3-5 legal practice areas.

But to be elite, it takes specialization.

So his question was, do I want to be elite, excellent, or ordinary?

And since my answer was ‘elite’ that means finding the right team to help forge me into an elite estate and business planning attorney.

Also, that means 1) not hanging up my own shingle with no expertise backing me, and 2) narrowing my practice area to focus on what I can become elite in.

Enter Thompson Law, a specialized “boutique” firm that has the reputation of being the top estate & business planning firm in SD. Started in the early 2000’s, the founder tragically passed away too early; but her legacy lives on.

This lengthy story is why I left the law firm I was at to join Thompson Law at the start of the new year.

My previous firm was (and is) excellent – I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunity, experience and guidance I gained while working there.

And now, I’m excited about specialization to become not ordinary, not excellent, but elite in the estate and business planning world. And to be able to help farm families preserve their operations for generations to come.

In sum, without the wisdom of a mentor (Dale) I wouldn’t have been able to check my ego and recognize the right path for my career.

So, my advice to anyone reading this: please find a quality mentor or peer group who can help guide you; whatever your questions might be.

-Clint

Meme of the Week

That’s a wrap, folks.

Until next time, thank you to everyone involved in ag.