The exclusion from income of meals and lodging provided for employees has always been an important feature of employee status in farm and ranch operations. The statutory enactment making employee meals fully deductible as a de minimis fringe benefit effective in 1998 has made meals provided to employees an even more valuable employee benefit. Moreover, if more than one-half of the employees to whom meals are provided on an employer's premises are provided for the convenience of the employer, then all of the meals are treated as furnished for the convenience of the employer.