Know every acre, not the field average.
Grid and zone sampling, lab analysis, and maps of pH, P, K, organic matter, and CEC — the base layer for every fertility decision, and the same data your §180 report was built on.
About soil testing →
Section 180 · For farmers who bought ground
Somebody spent years feeding that soil. You get the write-off.
The nutrients already in the ground when you closed are deductible under Section 180 — typically $750 to $2,000 an acre. Measured on your field, signed by a 47-year agronomist, filed by your own CPA.
Estimate my deduction
Free estimate · same-day call back
Every valuation signed by
John McGillicuddy, CCA
47 years in Midwest soils · Read his full bio
Since 1960§180 in the tax code
9 statesof farmer clients
12× returntax savings vs. our fee, in the example below
6 weeksto a signed report
Quick estimate
Estimate only
Your agronomist
John McGillicuddy, CCA
Principal agronomist
Forty-seven years walking Midwest fields. University of Iowa. Ran agronomic research for a crop insurer, and has written the training that crop advisers take in seven states. Sells advice, never inputs. He signs every Section Line valuation himself.
Read John's story →
The record
- 47 years in hybrid and fertility research, field agronomy, precision farming, and weed science across the upper Midwest and Southwest.
- Certified Crop Adviser (Iowa). Author of board-approved CCA CEU programs in seven states since 1993.
- Director of Agronomic Research, IGF Crop Insurance; technical adviser to American Agrisurance, then the largest crop insurer in the country.
- Contracted by USDA/NRCS, NASA's satellite remote sensing center, Bayer, Monsanto, Wilbur-Ellis, Wyffels Hybrids, and World Bank/IFC projects on four continents.
- Farmer clients in nine states — Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin.
- Keynote speaker to rooms of 1,000 at Kansas State, Texas A&M, and Penn State; principal instructor, Kentucky Corn Growers C.O.R.E. program.
How it works
Four steps, six weeks, one signed report your accountant can file with.
No black box. Every step produces a document that goes into your audit file.
1 · EngageDay 0
Flat per-acre quote before you sign anything. We collect the deed, closing statement, and field boundaries.
You get: engagement letter, sampling plan
2 · SampleWeeks 1–2
Grid samples pulled across your ground on a documented protocol: GPS-logged, photographed, chain-of-custody tracked.
You get: sampling map, GPS log, custody record
3 · Lab & valuationWeeks 2–4
An independent accredited lab quantifies N, P, K, and lime. We value only the excess above what the crop needs, at documented replacement cost.
You get: lab certificates, valuation memo
4 · Signed reportWeeks 4–6
John signs the fertility valuation. Your accountant makes the tax call and files. If it's ever examined, our audit response is included.
You get: signed report, depletion schedule, election language, indexed audit file
Our guarantee
If the soil doesn't support it, you don't pay.
We sample and run the lab work first. If the measured excess fertility doesn't document a deduction worth at least ten times our fee, there is no fee.
If it's ever examined
We stand behind the report, at no charge.
Audit-response support on our valuation is included: John and his office explain the sampling, the lab results, and the method directly to the examiner, alongside your CPA.
What we won't promise
A tax outcome.
No one can guarantee what the IRS will allow, and you should be wary of anyone who does. What we guarantee is the measurement and the paper behind it.
Section Line vs. the national §180 shops
Same deduction. Very different paper behind it.
If a return is ever examined, the question isn't how many customers the provider has. It's who measured the soil, how, and who put their name on the number.
| Section Line Ag | Typical national provider | |
|---|---|---|
| Who signs the valuation | A named Certified Crop Adviser with 47 years in your soils | "Our team" and a proprietary algorithm |
| Sampling | Grid-sampled on your ground, GPS-logged, photographed, chain-of-custody | Varies; may rely on modeled or "hindcast" fertility for older purchases |
| Lab | Independent accredited lab — never our own bench | Often in-house or undisclosed |
| Valuation basis | Only excess above agronomic optimum, at documented replacement cost with a stated price date | "Soil fertility load" — method not published |
| What your CPA receives | Signed report, valuation memo, depletion schedule, election language, indexed audit file | A report |
| If it's examined | Audit-response support included, no extra charge | Ask |
| Sells inputs? | No. Measurement and advice only. | Some are owned by ag-input or ag-tech companies |
Worked example
A 500-acre Iowa farm, bought last fall.
500 acres of high-input row crop ground at $11,500 an acre, with lab-measured excess fertility documented at 13% of the purchase price — about $1,495 an acre. These are the midpoints; the estimator above shows a range around them. Hypothetical, for illustration only — not a client result and not a guarantee.
Purchase price (500 ac × $11,500)$5,750,000
Documented excess fertility (13% of price)$747,500
Tax savings at 32% bracket$239,200
Study fee (500 ac × $40)– $20,000
Return on our fee (savings ÷ fee)12.0×
Net first-year benefit≈ $219,200
Beyond §180
The same agronomist, after the deduction is filed.
Section 180 is a one-time look at what's in your soil. The same measurements can keep paying after the deduction is filed — this is where we add value beyond Section 180.
Put fertilizer where it pays and nowhere else.
Variable-rate prescriptions for N, P, K, and lime written from your own soil maps and yield history — by someone with no product to sell you.
About nutrient management →Measure what each input actually returned.
IFarmIS measures the financial response to seed, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and lime on your fields — your local data, not regional correlations.
About IFarmIS →Questions
What landowners ask first.
Is this legal?
Yes. Section 180 has been in the Internal Revenue Code since 1960, and the IRS addressed residual fertilizer in guidance in 1991. What matters is the quality of the measurement and documentation behind the deduction — which is why we sample, use an independent lab, value conservatively, and sign.
Which purchases qualify?
Recent, arm's-length purchases of fertilized cropland are the clearest cases. Inherited ground that received a stepped-up basis can also qualify. Your CPA makes the final determination; we give them the measurement to make it with.
Am I too late if I bought in 2022 or 2023?
Returns can generally be amended up to three years back, so many 2023 purchases are still open. Older purchases get harder. A five-minute call sorts it out.
What if I cash-rent the land to a farmer?
Cash-rent situations are a gray area that depends on your facts. We'll tell you if we don't think it's worth sampling, and your CPA makes the call.
What happens if I'm audited?
Every report ships with a complete, indexed audit file: sampling maps, GPS logs, chain-of-custody records, lab certificates, the valuation memo, and John's signature. Audit-response support is included at no extra charge.
What if I sell the farm later?
Amounts you deducted can be recaptured as ordinary income at sale. Your CPA will factor this into whether the deduction makes sense for you.
Who is John McGillicuddy?
An independent agronomist in Iowa City with 47 years in Midwest soils, a Certified Crop Adviser, and the principal of MC Agronomics and IFarmIS. He has written crop-adviser training programs in seven states since 1993, ran agronomic research for a crop insurer, and has never sold an input product. He signs every Section Line valuation.