Farms.com Home   News

Weekly Column: The One Big Beautiful Bill Backs Idaho Farmers And Ranchers

When tillage begins other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization." Daniel Webster’s 1840 quote above a doorway on the first floor of the U.S. Capitol is a reminder of agriculture producers’ central role in the foundation of our great country.

Idaho agriculture’s fundamental role in our communities is clear. Agribusinesses are the largest contributors to Idaho’s economy, accounting for 20 percent of Idaho’s gross state product, as they work steadily to feed Idaho families and a growing world population. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) includes a number of provisions that will help Idaho farm families continue to produce abundantly with more certainty about federal tax and agricultural policy affecting their operations.

First, the tax section of the OBBBA that I worked as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee to help craft would better enable farm families to plan for the future and pass their farms onto future generations. Idaho family farmers, ranchers and entrepreneurs often work lifetimes to grow their businesses. The death tax can be a devastating blow to families who want to pass down their farm or small business to the next generation. The OBBBA rightly increases and makes permanent the doubled death tax exemption, and indexes it for inflation, ensuring the government is not forcing land sales or intervening in family-owned businesses.

The law also permanently provides for 100 percent bonus depreciation in addition to increasing small business expensing, allowing farmers and ranchers in Idaho to immediately deduct the full cost of farm equipment, machinery and vehicles. The law makes permanent the small-business deduction claimed by over 200,000 Idaho business owners including family farms and ranches. Additionally, the law locks in and boosts the standard deduction to $31,500 for families, providing more than $200 billion in new tax relief to the nearly 90 percent of taxpayers who claim it. These provisions are in addition to the 2017 Trump tax rates that are now permanent, giving families and businesses the certainty they need to plan, save and invest in the future.

Source : senate.gov

Trending Video

Hay As A Cash Crop Panel Discussion

Video: Hay As A Cash Crop Panel Discussion

For producers looking to get into the commercial market in Ontario, there are several avenues. Our Forage Focus panel discussed some of those options.

The panel includes: Mark Horst of Marcrest Manufacturing, Fritz Trauttmansdorff from Ontario Hay and Forage Co-operative Inc, Chris Martin from Marhaven Agri and Chinook Hay Systems, James Fisher from The Hay Press Company, and Jaye Aitkins from Agricultural Credit Corporation. It was moderated by Christine O'Reilly from OMAFA.