Starting out in any industry comes with challenges, and agriculture is no exception. Rising input costs, limited access to equipment, land, and capital, and difficulty securing long-term leases make it especially hard for new farmers to get established. Land access remains one of the biggest barriers.
At the same time, Nebraska agriculture is facing a demographic shift. The average Nebraska farmer is nearing retirement age, and many farm and ranch owners are actively looking for the next generation to take over their operations. In some cases, there is no family member interested in continuing the farm. This creates both a challenge and an opportunity. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s NextGen Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program was created to help address this challenge.
NextGen operates under the Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Act, which is intended to help beginning farmers and ranchers gain access to agricultural assets while providing tax incentives to asset owners.
Under the program, agricultural asset owners can receive a refundable Nebraska income tax credit for leasing or renting land, machinery, or breeding livestock to a qualifying beginning farmer. A beginning farmer is generally defined as an individual who has farmed or ranched for less than 10 of the last 15 years, making the program accessible to a broader range of producers, including those who may be transitioning from hired labor to ownership.
Source : unl.edu