How Will Tax Reform Affect Agriculture?

 

Many people are wondering exactly how the sweeping “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” will impact their personal tax returns and what the law might mean for agriculture.

 

I’m no tax law expert, but luckily, I know someone who is!  I was fortunate to have Kristine Tidgren from the Iowa State Center for Ag Law and Taxation join me on a recent episode of the Ag Law in the Field Podcast to discuss the ins and outs of the new tax reform law.  You can listen to the podcast episode on your favorite podcast app, or on your computer by clicking here.

 

Additionally, Kristine and her crew at CALT put together a great blog post highlighting the details of the provisions most likely to impact those of us involved in agriculture.  You can find that here.  Another great summary was done by Delta Farm Press and you can find that here.

 

A quick update to something discussed by Kristine on the podcast and in the summary, last week Congress and USDA announced they would attempt to change a provision in the current law Section 199A that gives cooperatives a purchasing advantage for grain over independent elevators.  Currently, farmers can deduct 20% of gross sales to cooperatives, but only 20% of net income if they sell to another purchaser.  Several Congressmen and USDA says this was not the intent of the law.  

 

Video: Michigan Cover Crop Decision Tool Update 2026

Abigail Smith, NRCS State Agronomist, Monica Jean, MSU Extension Field Crops Educator, and Madelyn Cleovsky, MSU Extension Conservation Agronomist Educator, discuss 2025 updates made to MCCC’s Cover Crop Decision Tool for Michigan.

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number 2023-38640-39573 through the North Central Region SARE program under project number ENC23-226. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.