Farm Bureau ‘On Track’ to Oppose Budget Reconciliation Bill

Sep 27, 2021

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said Thursday that Farm Bureau is “on track” to oppose the Democrats’ budget reconciliation bill that would provide as much as $130 billion in agriculture and food spending but is also likely to raise taxes.At a luncheon for reporters, Duvall said that Farm Bureau will have to examine the final bill, but that the current version would spend a total of $3.5 trillion over 10 years and raise taxes by $2 trillion.

Although the agriculture section of the bill includes “attractive” programs, Duvall said Farm Bureau fears that the increased spending and taxes would create more burdens for farmers.

The spending on agricultural research, rural development, biofuels and other rural programs would amount to $66 billion, a small portion of the $3.5 trillion, Duvall noted. He did not mention the $28 billion for conservation or the $35 billion for child nutrition programs that is likely to increase government spending on food.

As DTN reported Thursday, farmers would get a $25 an acre payment from USDA to grow cover crop as part of the $28 billion set aside for climate-smart conservation practices.

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Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., has said that Republicans will be grateful for the reconciliation bill provisions when the 2023 farm bill comes up because they will increase the budget authority known as the baseline for the farm bill.

Asked about the Democrats’ linkage of the reconciliation bill to the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Farm Bureau has endorsed, Duvall said that Farm Bureau does not have to have an opinion about both bills at “at one time.”Duvall made the statement about the overall budget reconciliation bill, even though signs are that Farm Bureau and other ag groups appear to have convinced Congress not to eliminate the stepped-up basis provision in estate tax law. Stepped-up basis allows farmers and other landowners use to value land at the time of death so that heirs pay capital gains taxes only on the difference between the value at the time of death and the sale price rather than the decedent’s purchase price and the sale price.

Duvall said Farm Bureau had done “a really good job in talking about the disadvantages of stepped up basis.”

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.