The story of Dr. Neal Dow hits close to home for every farm or ranch family.

Dr. Neal “Doc” Dow, a retired veterinarian and full-time rancher in Post, Oregon, says the future of his ranch is pretty cut-and-dried. Upon his passing, the ranch he and his late wife Anna cared for will fall outside the reach of his family, due to the estate tax. Dow recounted his personal situation in a guest column posted this week at Agweb.com.

The Dows paid off one estate tax burden over 18 years of hard work and loans. Now, it does not appear their children will even be able to afford the same option.

“By the sweat of our brows, we paid off this loan,” Dow wrote. “But it took 18 years to do so. I worked as a veterinarian by day and as a rancher at night and on weekends, while on call around the clock to help save a pet or deliver newborn livestock. Anna worked alongside me at both the clinic and the ranch. We became accustomed to sacrifice, forgoing weekends with friends so we could develop water springs, install pipe lines, build roads and improve wildlife habitat and cattle grazing areas on our ranch. It was tough and exhausting, but we did it with relish in order to achieve our dreams of full-time cattle ranching.”

After that, their work continued to expand, improve and care for their ranch, with their children and grandchildren playing integral roles in the process.

“Anna passed away in 2008, and now it’s just me,” he wrote. “I intend to keep on ranching and die with my boots on. At one time I would have assumed that the legacy we spent 60 years building would be passed down to my children. I now realize that federal estate tax law – the hated “death tax” – is all but designed to prevent it. The fact is: My children will owe the government so much money when I die that the ranch will die with me.”

Dow said his story and struggle are not unique. “Some 24 million American families own businesses of every kind, including some 2 million family farms and ranches, like mine,” he wrote.

You can read his insightful column here.