NCBA Delivers Preserving Family Farms Act:

A Permanent Solution to a Generational Issue

WASHINGTON (April 7, 2021) – The Preserving Family Farms Act of 2021 was introduced by U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta (CA-20) and Jackie Walorski (IN-2). NCBA has long supported efforts to reduce undue tax burden on farmers and ranchers. This bipartisan legislation to expand IRS Code Section 2032A would allow cattle producers to take advantage of the Special Use Valuation and protect family-owned businesses from the devastating impact of the federal estate tax, commonly referred to as the Death Tax.
“We thank Representatives Panetta and Walorski for their leadership and dedication to protecting future generations of agricultural producers through the introduction of the Preserving Family Farms Act of 2021,” said Jerry Bohn, NCBA president.
The Preserving Family Farms Act increases the maximum amount allowed under the Section 2032A exemption from $750,000 to $11 million (indexed for inflation), thus reviving a critically important tool in the toolbox for farm and ranch families across the U.S. If enacted, this legislation will provide a permanent solution to an issue that has long plagued our nation’s cattle producers.
“America’s farmers and ranchers deserve certainty in the tax code overall, and they need certainty especially when it comes to the estate tax. Without it, transition planning for the next generation of producers is nearly impossible,” Bohn said.

In the Tax Reform Act of 1976, Congress recognized the disproportionate burden of the Death Tax on agricultural producers and created Section 2032A as a way to help farmers keep their farms. However, the benefits of Special Use Valuations have been stymied over the years as the cap on deductions has failed to keep pace with the rising value of farmland.
While the current 2032A reduction is 55 percent higher than the value established two decades ago, USDA estimates that cropland values have increased by 223 percent. Agricultural land values – including on-farm buildings – have also risen dramatically, increasing by 241 percent during this same period. Due to the rapid inflation of farmland values, the 2032A deduction is no longer aligned with the needs of modern agriculture – nor does it accomplish Congress’ intended goal of providing meaningful protection to those producers who are most vulnerable to the estate tax.

 I'm Not Going to Turn Another Clod

I'm Not Going to Turn Another Clod

by Robert Hathorne and Chad Douglas, NRCS

 

It’s been more than twelve years since Pond Creek was listed as an impaired waterbody, and it’s not just the soils that are unrecognizable. Working with their local NRCS Conservation Planner and the Grant County Conservation District, farmers like Hula—throughout the Pond Creek watershed—are adopting conservation practices that improve water quality. Over 10,000 acres are under nutrient management plans that save farmers money and reduce excess fertilizer getting into streams. Prescribed grazing, grade stabilization structures, range planting and waterway rehabilitation measures have also been adopted on thousands of acres across the county.

Healthier Soil and Cleaner Water

Gary Hula is a wheat, soybean and milo farmer in northern Oklahoma who’s been driving a tractor since before he could drive a car. “When I was growing up, we plowed every acre,” he recalls. “Before we went to no-till, we worked the ground too much. It was so dusty, you couldn’t see to plant a row of wheat,” said Hula. “The soil was like flour, it would just pile up in front of the tractor tires.”

It’s a familiar story in Grant County, where water makes its way to the Mississippi River by way of the Arkansas. It’s also a story that’s been changing since Pond Creek’s water quality issues were discovered.

In 2004, data collected by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission revealed Pond Creek was impaired for elevated turbidity, high concentrations of E. coli and low dissolved oxygen as a result of tilled field runoff and animal waste. By voluntarily implementing conservation practices, farmers and ranchers like Hula are learning that the techniques that make their operations more resilient are the same techniques that revitalize the ecosystems they work in.

Conservation That Works

After four years of planting without a plow, Hula’s soils are unrecognizable—armored by crop residue and full of life. Applying extra nitrogen fertilizer on a single strip at planting allows Hula to more precisely measure fertilizer needs in the growing season, reducing nitrogen runoff. Protecting permanent vegetation along streams on his land means any runoff Hula does produce is filtered on its way to the creek.

Before adopting these conservation practices, Hula watched his neighbors’ success for years. He remembers seeing muddy water roll off his tilled fields while clear water ran off neighboring no-till fields. In the winter, snow accumulated in the residue of no-till fields, hydrating winter wheat, while winds sapped precious moisture from his own tilled fields.

Finally, Hula committed to change: “You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution…I’m not going to turn another clod,” he said.

Four years of no-till and two years of cover crops later, Hula hasn’t looked back. By not disturbing the soil and by keeping living plants in the ground year-round, residue, organic matter and microbes are creating soil structure that stops erosion despite wind and rain and absorbs water and keeps it there longer than tilled soil.

Today, new water quality data shows Pond Creek is clearer, has less bacteria and a booming fish population despite recent drought. Which is why in 2014, Pond Creek was added to Oklahoma’s growing list of delisted streams restored in working agricultural land.

Thousands of acres of no-till, prescribed grazing, cover crops and other high-impact conservation practices have drastically improved the water quality in Pond Creek—benefiting neighbors from Tulsa all the way down to New Orleans.

Top five practices to reduce runoff and erosion in Pond Creek:

1. Grass planting
2. No-till
3. Grade stabilization
4. Waterway rehabilitation
5. Prescribed grazing

For Gary Hula’s part, he’s eager to continue experimenting with cover crops and reintroducing natural systems on his operation. Unlike many farmers who sell their old plow when they switch to no-till, Hula kept his. It sits rusting next to his new no-till drill.

“My father made his living breaking horses to pull a plow,” he said. “I keep the old disc around to remind me of what I used to do.”