The state says some of Massachusetts’ 175 dairy farms will be eligible for $3 million in tax credits after the Patrick Administration uncovered an error in the state’s 2010 Dairy Farmer Tax Credit Program.
Last month, the state’s board of food and agriculture determined an error had been made in the 2010 Dairy Farmer Tax Credit Program. Using an independent agricultural economist, the board recalculated the tax credit employing econometric data from 2006 through 2009.
In 2008, Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law the Dairy Farm Preservation Act into law. One of its provisions was the creation of the tax credit to offset federally imposed milk price constraints. Under this provision, farmers can obtain an income tax credit for producing milk in any month when the farm price for milk falls below a “trigger” price, established by the state’s Department of Agricultural Resources, to reflect the cost of production. Farms receive the credit after they file their state tax returns.
