Bill would help beginning farmers
By Dan Gearino Journal Des Moines Bureau | Posted: Wednesday, March 07, 2007
DES MOINES -- Rep. Pat Grassley is a beginning farmer who says too many of his friends have a tough time getting established in farming.
Grassley, 23, a New Hartford Republican, joined with two other House Republicans Tuesday to propose a package of programs and tax breaks to help beginning farmers. "I know the difficulties that we face as young farmers getting started," said Grassley, who works on a family farm that includes his grandfather, U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley.
The cost of entry for new farmers has ballooned in recent years with the rise of land prices and the consolidation of existing farms. The plan would do the following:
-- Allow relatives of farmers who are beginning farmers to avoid the inheritance tax for the farm. The plan would also allow an inheritance tax exemption if the new owner agrees to share the land with a beginning farmer through a crop-share agreement.
-- Provide $5 million in property tax credits to be split by beginning farmers. The amount of benefit for each farmer would depend on the number of applicants.
-- Spend $25,000 on a program to encourage women and minorities to enter farming. The combined cost of the proposals was not immediately available.
Current law allows children to inherit farms from their parents without paying inheritance tax. The plan would expand this to include other relatives, even by marriage or adoption. For this provision, and others in the plan, the sponsors use an existing definition of "beginning farmer," which is a farmer whose total agricultural assets are $800,000 or less.
The other sponsors are Reps. Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton, and Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner. Kaufmann said the plan gets to the heart of what it means to be a rural Iowan. "Certainly the barriers of becoming a farmer are so high that oftentimes these young men and young women need to give up their dreams," he said.
Upmeyer's contribution is the provision for women and minority farmers. "I think we need to think of young women as young farmers," she said. The sponsors conceded that a Republican-sponsored plan will have a tough time passing in a Legislature controlled by Democrats.
Grassley said the plan was crafted with an eye toward getting support from at least some Democrats. "This is not a partisan bill. This is going to be a good, bipartisan bill that is good for all beginning farmers," he said.
Kaufmann said he has not yet approached Democrats to join as co-sponsors, but he plans to once the bill is formally introduced this week.
Because the proposal includes tax breaks, it is immune to the deadline this week in which bills must pass a House or Senate committee or be considered dead for the session. Tax and spending bills can be considered throughout the session.
Dan Gearino can be reached at 515-243-0138 and dan.gearino@lee.net.
Grassley, 23, a New Hartford Republican, joined with two other House Republicans Tuesday to propose a package of programs and tax breaks to help beginning farmers. "I know the difficulties that we face as young farmers getting started," said Grassley, who works on a family farm that includes his grandfather, U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley.
The cost of entry for new farmers has ballooned in recent years with the rise of land prices and the consolidation of existing farms. The plan would do the following:
-- Allow relatives of farmers who are beginning farmers to avoid the inheritance tax for the farm. The plan would also allow an inheritance tax exemption if the new owner agrees to share the land with a beginning farmer through a crop-share agreement.
-- Provide $5 million in property tax credits to be split by beginning farmers. The amount of benefit for each farmer would depend on the number of applicants.
-- Spend $25,000 on a program to encourage women and minorities to enter farming. The combined cost of the proposals was not immediately available.
Current law allows children to inherit farms from their parents without paying inheritance tax. The plan would expand this to include other relatives, even by marriage or adoption. For this provision, and others in the plan, the sponsors use an existing definition of "beginning farmer," which is a farmer whose total agricultural assets are $800,000 or less.
The other sponsors are Reps. Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton, and Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner. Kaufmann said the plan gets to the heart of what it means to be a rural Iowan. "Certainly the barriers of becoming a farmer are so high that oftentimes these young men and young women need to give up their dreams," he said.
Upmeyer's contribution is the provision for women and minority farmers. "I think we need to think of young women as young farmers," she said. The sponsors conceded that a Republican-sponsored plan will have a tough time passing in a Legislature controlled by Democrats.
Grassley said the plan was crafted with an eye toward getting support from at least some Democrats. "This is not a partisan bill. This is going to be a good, bipartisan bill that is good for all beginning farmers," he said.
Kaufmann said he has not yet approached Democrats to join as co-sponsors, but he plans to once the bill is formally introduced this week.
Because the proposal includes tax breaks, it is immune to the deadline this week in which bills must pass a House or Senate committee or be considered dead for the session. Tax and spending bills can be considered throughout the session.
Dan Gearino can be reached at 515-243-0138 and dan.gearino@lee.net.
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