Donate a feed mixer after the herd was sold

Where donated mixers come from

Dairies that sold the herd. That is the dominant story, and the mixer usually comes with a chopper, a spreader and barn equipment in the same dispersal.

Beef and feedlot operations downsizing or moving to a different feeding system.

Estates, and farms that switched to buying prepared feed rather than mixing their own.

Trailer sized to the tub

A pull-type mixer goes on a step-deck or drop-deck. A truck-mounted mixer is a vehicle and is handled more like a truck. Vertical mixers are tall, so overall height matters for the load. Giving Center arranges and covers it.

Tell us whether it is pull-type or truck-mounted, the tub capacity, the overall height and whether the wheels roll. Also tell us whether the PTO driveline and shield are present.

Clean the tub out. Dried feed left in a mixer is both a pest problem and an unpleasant job for whoever unloads it, and the cleanup cost comes out of the proceeds. Access is the first question on any farm pickup. Tell us where it sits, what the ground is like and what is between it and a road a trailer can use.

What decides what a mixer brings

• Type. Vertical single or twin screw, reel mixer, or truck-mounted. Vertical mixers dominate the current market and are worth more.
• Capacity. Cubic feet, and it needs to match a buyer's herd size.
• Auger and knife condition. The main wear assembly. Knife sections, auger flighting wear and whether the gearbox is sound.
• Scale system. A working load-cell scale with a readable head is a real premium and buyers ask directly.
• Tub and discharge condition. Tub wall wear, floor condition, the discharge door and the cross conveyor belt.

Makes we accept

Mixers are a specialist brand market.

• Vertical: Kuhn Knight VT and VTC, Jaylor, Patz V-series, NDE, Supreme International, Penta, Trioliet, Schuler, Roto-Mix.
• Reel and auger: Kuhn Knight Reel Auggie, Roto-Mix, Patz, Gehl, Meyer, Oswalt, Rissler, Luck Now.
• Scales: Digi-Star, Weigh-Tronix, Scale-Tec, Rice Lake.

Manufacturer names appear here so you can find your own machine. No manufacturer sponsors, endorses or is affiliated with this program.

The paperwork, and what you can deduct

Farm equipment is not titled. Ownership is established with the purchase invoice, a bill of sale, a farm asset record, or a lien release if it was financed. Find the serial plate and photograph it. If the machine is part of an estate or a farm partnership, whoever signs needs authority to sign for it.

Giving Center sells the mixer and your deduction is the gross sale proceeds on Form 1098-C. A working vertical mixer with a functioning scale clears $5,000 in most cases, which brings the qualified appraisal requirement and Form 8283 Section B at your expense. An older reel mixer usually lands between $500 and $5,000, where Section A applies.

A dairy dispersal is the right way to do this. If the mixer is going along with a chopper, a spreader, barn equipment and a tractor, list all of it on one form. One mobilization across a whole dispersal is dramatically better for the cause than separate pickups. Most farm equipment is a depreciated business asset, which makes a conversation with your accountant worth having before the pickup. Farm business property follows different rules than a personal donation.