AFBF is urging Congress to take action to protect family farms

Congress has a big agenda this year between budget talks, the Farm Bill, and various other ag policy concerns. However, the American Farm Bureau says action on tax policy should be a top priority, starting with the estate tax.

“Families are already going through a very difficult time when they lose a loved one and are passing the farm on, and so, this adds an additional burden of trying to come up with up to 40 percent of your farm’s value to pay the IRS. Most of farm assets come from non-liquid assets, mainly land. So, as land becomes more valuable, even when farms are facing losses, they’re now being pushed above that exemption level due to rising land values,” said Samantha Ayoub.

The Farm Bureau says at the end of the day, it all comes down to giving farmers and ranchers certainty, adding without permanent changes, farmers and ranchers are at risk.

Related Stories
Investment and access to capital remain critical for agriculture.
Pat Hord with the National Pork Producers Council joined us to recap producer meetings in Washington and discuss key policy priorities including Prop 12 and agricultural labor.
Groundbreaking Marks Next Major Milestone in Strengthening U.S. New World Screwworm Preparedness
Steven Snow with the U.S. Small Business Administration joined us to discuss tax relief for rural Americans and the long-term benefits of new provisions impacting farmers and small businesses.
As budget hearings continue on Capitol Hill, policymakers focus on long-term solutions to stabilize the fertilizer market to support U.S. farmers.
Rising global supplies may cap soybean price strength, while sorghum prices hinge heavily on China’s export demand.

LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

Trinity Barth and Liliann Tjaden-Duff joined us on Market Day Report to express their concerns about the future of the program that has, for 50 years, given students of all backgrounds a path to agriculture careers.
Agricultural irrigation return flow exemption and “Maui factors” are the topics of today’s Firm to Farm blog post by RFD-TV ag tax and legal expert Roger McEowen with Kansas’ Washburn School of Law.