Gifting grain directly, before it's sold, is one of the oldest and most tax-efficient ways for a farm operation to give. We Take IT handles the elevator paperwork, the receipt, and the transfer — so the gift moves like any other delivery.
When you sell grain first and donate the cash, the sale shows up as income before it ever reaches a ministry. Gifting the grain itself, before sale, changes that.
Because you never sell the grain yourself, its value never hits your Schedule F as income — it simply leaves your operation as a gift.
A direct grain gift isn't run through your sale ledger, so it isn't subject to self-employment tax the way cash from a grain sale would be.
You've already deducted the cost of growing the grain as a normal farm expense — so the gift costs you only the bushels, not the cash.
Your ministry receives the full fair market value of the grain at the time of transfer, even though it never appeared as your income.
Commodity grain — corn, soybeans, wheat, and similar crops — held as inventory rather than grain you've already contracted to sell. The gift needs to happen before any sale agreement is in place.
Grain delivered directly from the field, the bin, or held in storage at a cooperative or elevator can all qualify, provided the transfer of ownership happens cleanly.
Reach out before any sale contract is signed — the gift has to happen while you still hold the grain as inventory.
We work with your elevator or co-op to record the change in ownership and confirm bushels and grade.
Once we hold title, we authorize the sale and direct net proceeds, less a modest Ministry Grant, to your chosen fund.
The earlier we talk, the more flexibility you'll have with timing. Reach out and we'll walk through what it looks like with your elevator — and if grain isn't the right fit for your situation, we'll help you find what is.
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