People in rural communities live surrounded by growing food, but they experience hunger too. That’s why CHS is once again teaming up with local farmers to fight hunger in rural America. The CHS Harvest for Hunger food, grain and fund drive begins March 1 and continues through March 20 at your nearest CHS location.

“We might never know that the neighbor across the road or down the drive struggles to put food on the table, but through our efforts this month, we can make sure those local food shelves can anonymously help those who need it most,” says Rick Dusek, executive vice president, CHS Country Operations. “For nine years now, our CHS employees and farmer-owners have stepped up during this annual campaign to help local and regional food shelves feed those in need.”

Since 2011, CHS has raised more than $5.6 million and 3.6 million pounds of food through its Country Operations business units. CHS locations across the United States have organized ways to get farmer, ranchers, employees and community members involved in fun and interactive ways to raise food and funds to fight hunger.

Financial donations are encouraged as they give food banks additional buying power to provide nutritious food at deeply discounted rates; $1 equals 6 pounds of food for area food banks. But food and grain donations are also accepted. Every donation counts.

“All the food, money and grain raised by CHS Harvest for Hunger goes directly back to local and regional food banks to help fill their shelves,” Dusek says. “This way, we can help those in need by ensuring those organizations dedicated to fighting rural hunger have the resources they need to make a real difference in people’s lives.”

Stop by or contact your nearest CHS location to learn how you can support CHS Harvest for Hunger.

We are in the business of feeding the world, which is why our annual Harvest for Hunger campaign is an important part of what we do through CHS Country Operations. Though these rural communities are growing the crops that are feeding a hungry world, that doesn’t mean there isn’t hunger right here — the family next door, the neighbor down the street. We may not know who in our communities are going hungry, but through our Harvest for Hunger campaign, we are helping local and regional food shelves feed those people in need.

How can you help put a meal on the table to those in our local area?

Harvest for Hunger is a fundraiser exclusive to CHS, we care about the issue of hunger in the United States and we are dedicated to do what we can to alleviate hungry citizens. This fundraiser not only raises awareness and funds aimed towards food poverty, but also focuses on putting dollars back into our communities. If CHS South Central raises funds, CHS Inc. will match that funding! These funds will will come back to the community in form of donations towards local projects and academics.

We will be accepting grain, monetary funds and non-perishable food items for the local food pantries now through March 20th.  Contact us to learn how you can help fight hunger in our local communities.

The U.S. House and Senate have passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and the President has signed it, which repeals the IRS Section 199 Domestic Production Activities Deduction (DPAD), effective Dec. 31, 2017. As a result of this pending change, CHS will share fiscal 2017 DPAD allocations with eligible owners by Dec. 31, 2017.

Past federal income tax law allows agricultural cooperatives, like CHS, to pass through Section 199 Domestic Production Activities Deduction known as DPAD to eligible patrons. The CHS Board of Directors determined that, based on fiscal 2017 performance, eligible owners will receive the unused portion of the company’s DPAD, totaling nearly $151 million generated from patronage-related business conducted with CHS for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2017.

The fiscal 2017 allocations being made by the end of December 2017 replace the DPAD allocations eligible owners would have typically received in May 2018. You are encouraged to consult a tax professional to determine how this deduction can be claimed for federal and state purposes.

CHS farmer-owners will receive a statement outlining their Section 199 DPAD allocation for fiscal year 2017 within the next week. The Section 199 DPAD allocated to you is available as a deduction for the tax year in which you received this statement. For most individuals, this means the deduction can be used on your 2017 federal tax return. The deduction allocation will also be shown in Box 6 of a 1099 PATR that you will receive by mail in January 2018. Deductibility for state purposes varies by state.

If you have additional questions, please contact the CHS Patron Equities team at 1-800-328-6539, ext. 6124.