President Donald Trump and Republican leadership proposed a sweeping “megabill” aimed at revising the tax code across a multitude of industries, which passed through the House of Representatives on July 3. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) covers a vast amount of areas, with agriculture carrying several key points that should help the tax code for many farmers and ranchers, most notably changes to the estate tax (death tax). The bill proposes an individual exemption to $15 million and $30 million for couples and will be indexed for inflation. Many industry groups sounded off as the bill made its way through Congress and headed to Trump’s desk.
One of the largest takeaways is the revision of the death tax code. The OBBBA has language that would impact up to 2 million farms and ranches that are projected to be impacted by current estate tax code. In a statement released by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, she claims, “The OBBBA cuts taxes for farmers by over $10 billion and prevents the death tax from hitting 2 million family-owned farms that would otherwise see their exemptions cut in half.”
On July 2, the bill was passed by the Senate with Vice President J.D. Vance pushing the bill through as the tie-breaking vote. A day later, the House of Representatives passed the bill on a narrow vote of 218-214.
“America’s cattle farmers and ranchers are pleased by the final passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill,” said Ethan Lane, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “This legislation will protect family farmers and ranchers from the devastation of the Death Tax, it will avoid a massive year-end tax hike that could have put cattle operations out of business, it expands and protects many of the small business tax deductions that family producers rely on to save more of the hard-earned money, and it funds critical foreign animal disease prevention measures that protect cattle health.”
American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said of the bill: “Prices being paid to farmers continue to fall, while expenses remain stubbornly high. The combination is taking a toll—America lost more than 141,000 farms in a five-year period, leading to more consolidation of family farms …Increases to reference prices as well as investments in conservation, research and trade are desperately needed, especially since it’s been seven years since passage of a new farm bill. Farmers will stand a better chance of enduring tough times so they can plant for another season.”
Also supporting the bill is the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). President Kenneth Hartman Jr. said, “NCGA has worked closely with members of Congress as they drafted and voted on this legislation. We are particularly pleased to see the permanent extension of certain tax provisions, which will provide more certainty to corn farmers around the country as they plan for the future of their businesses.”
National Milk Producers Federation President Gregg Doud also sounded off by saying, “Dairy farmers are grateful for legislation that will create several key opportunities for dairy … We hope they are enacted into law as swiftly as possible.”
Proponents of the bill say it will add an additional $3 trillion to the national deficit and undoes several big wins for the Biden administration’s tax code. Lately, there have been several changes to the bill to ensure its passage. One of those pieces began circulating through social media claiming that millions of publicly owned acres were going to be sold to private ownership. This piece has been removed from the OBBBA.
Regarding this, Lane said, “The Senate version of the bill also does not include controversial provisions that have gained national attention. The bill does not include any sale of public lands, and it does not include controversial language on eminent domain. NCBA’s grassroots policy supports landowners’ private property rights, and we oppose the expanded use of eminent domain.”
At the time of this writing, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-08) was seen carrying three binders to the podium in what looked like a marathon speech to commence. After Jeffries’ eight hours and 44 minutes at the podium, and shortly before WLJ press time, the House finished its 29-hour long debate and put the bill to a final vote, ultimately passing it. House Republicans who were holding out now carry some bartering power as they helped push Trump’s OBBBA into law.
This bill is the Trump administration’s largest procedural win to date. Not every industry gains positives. There are many areas that have negative impacts. Regardless of what side of the aisle you fall, we can all agree that input costs and taxes have continued to etch higher for farmers and ranchers. Any reprieve that keeps dollars at home and a better opportunity to pass on operations to the next generation is a positive thing. — LOGAN IPSEN
