WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) recently released a report analyzing data collected in a nationwide tax survey of America’s cattle producers which showed strong support for tax relief provisions.

With the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act set to expire at the end of 2025, NCBA officials said they collected this survey data to better understand how key tax provisions, such as death tax relief and business deductions, impact family-owned cattle operations.

Signed into law by President Donald Trump Jan. 1, 2018, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was a major overhaul of the tax code, which included reducing tax rates for corporations and individuals, and increasing the standard deduction and family tax credits.

“When I was starting out in the ranching business, I saw the devastating impact of the death tax firsthand, and this tax nearly killed my dream of ranching with my family,” said Mark Eisele, NCBA president, and Cheyenne, Wyo., rancher.

“This experience pushed me to fight for lower taxes on farms and ranches, and the data collected by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association shows that many other producers around the country have faced similar pressure from devastating tax bills, too,” he added.

The respondents to the tax survey indicated that 99 percent operated family-owned farms or ranches, and 64 percent were third-generation cattle producers, or greater.

Moreover, the tax survey data also showed a quarter of respondents spend more than $10,000 annually for tax preparation, filing, and potential audits, all expenses that only add further pressure to agricultural operations, said Kent Bacus, NCBA executive director of government affairs.

“Farms and ranches are unique small businesses, and they face a variety of challenges that our tax code must address,” he said. “The survey data shows strong support for tax provisions that help cattle producers reduce their taxes and invest in essential assets for running a successful cattle operation.

“To protect our farming and ranching heritage, we need Congress to step up and back tax provisions that help cattle producers save more of their hard-earned money, and set up the next generation of cattle producers for success,” he added.

Dave Duzan, Illinois Beef Association Board president and Lexington, Ill., producer-member, told Farm World, “As farmers get older, we want to make sure our farming legacy continues with the next generation, but taxes pose a real threat to our legacy.

“High taxes force farmers to sell off land or other assets, go into debt, or hold off on making investments to the operation,” he said. “We need Congress to lower taxes on farms, end the death tax, and provide more tax relief so farmers can keep more of their hard-earned money.”

Doug Schroeder, of Schroeder Angus in Clarence, Iowa, told Farm World, “Without these key tax provisions, there is a huge burden of increased tax costs on livestock producers.

“But more importantly, in the long run, when I want to turn over the operation to my kids, they may have to liquidate some of the operation just to pay the tax,” he said. “That should never happen, and that isn’t only in cattle feeding operations; it shouldn’t happen to anybody.”

When asked what he would tell lawmakers regarding the need for tax relief to protect family-owned cattle operations, he said, “If you’ve worked your whole life to build something, you shouldn’t be taxed in order for the government to keep moving forward. You cannot tax yourself into prosperity, and that’s what we seem to want to do.”

Andrew P. Griffith, University of Tennessee professor of agricultural and resource economics, told Farm World he would encourage lawmakers to consider the repercussions of not providing a tax code that is equitable to farming families.

“As the government continues to funnel money into small- and medium-size meat processing facilities and continues to send dollars to assist dairies in regions of the country where dairies appear to be a dying breed, it only makes sense to provide tax law that will further support those farms, and eliminate the waste that goes along with collecting taxes and then redistributing them inefficiently.”

Eisele said, “I urge our policymakers to see the story this data is telling – that farmers and ranchers need lower taxes to stay in business and continue feeding the world.”

To read the full report, visit www.ncba.org.