I had a great conversation last night with Jim Taber. Jim is the chairman of the YF&R Committee in Montana. He was telling me about the efforts of their committee to encourage their lawmakers in Washington DC to pass H.R. 5134, The Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Act of 2007. This bill would eliminate the capital gains tax on the sale of agricultural property if it was sold to a qualified beginning farmer or rancher. It would also reduce the taxes paid if the land was sold to a person that was going to keep it in production agriculture. This would allow the seller to offer it to a beginning farmer or rancher at a reduced price. Jim said they have had some great conversations about this bill with Sen. Baucus from Montana and are hoping to get his support.
I would encourage all YF&R members and state committees to start encouraging their representatives and senators to take a look at this bill and urge them to support it.
This is one of the great reasons to belong to Farm Bureau. Our grassroots approach to improving agriculture is second to none. Congratulations to the Montana YF&R for their hard work on this issue.