Letter to the Editor: Old MacDonald lost his farm……

November 25th

Letter to the Editor

Old MacDonald lost his farm……

Along with January, 2013 fast approaching, so are the current tax structure changes and how they are going to affect our local farms. Currently the death/inheritance tax is 35% on property over $5 million; this will increase to 55% on property over $1 million if nothing is done!

According to Josh Rolph of the CFBF Federal Policy Division (California Farm Bureau Federation) "With our high land values in California, it's easy for a farmer to be hurt by the lower exemption thresholds and be forced to sell portions of the farm to pay the estate tax bill," Rolph said. "Keeping the family farm in the family is critical to sustaining agriculture, and reforming the estate tax is critical to sustaining family farms."

But what about North Carolina? Consider this: For those family farms located next to large metropolitan areas such as Charlotte, Raleigh, and Wilmington the property values are MUCH higher than ours, not even taking into account that 1 piece of machinery can cost anywhere from One hundred thousand to upwards of 1 million and several pieces are needed for the entire operations. Then if you look at the acreage these farms must possess to make a profit, one can easily lose their farm altogether!

But how are we in Craven County affected by all this? What impact does this have to us locally? Here are the Agriculture Stats for Congressional Districts 1 and 3 in Craven County. In both Districts, 1 and 3, 19% of all jobs are in agriculture with a 6.0 Billion dollar impact (in each District) and representing 23% of District GDP making both Districts 3rd highest district GDP in the state and the 4th highest in Ag employment.

Craven County as a whole is tied for 5th place in Ag Economic Impact which is NC's #1 industry and 99% of NC farms are family owned!

Farmers do not set their own pricing, the commodity market does. If prices are down, they run risks of not making ends meet and this happens more often than we ever imagined.

All of this is not to mention that taxes were paid when the farms were purchased, taxes were paid when the equipment was purchased, each year property taxes are paid on the equipment and land, out buildings and grain bins, tobacco barns and lean-to's, year after year......then when they die it gets one giant tax again and then to be taxed to the next owner.......this is MORE THEN double taxation....!

Families are already having a hard time of it with the way it stands now! Last years drought followed by hurricane Irene devastated Craven County’s farms. This years continuous rains and now the possibility of a massive inheritance tax……we will be saying good-bye to the smaller family owned farms once and for all and they will be forced to sell the equipment and land to pay the taxes.

Lastly, Only 210,000 Americans are responsible for Eighty Percent of the US Ag Production. By the year 2050 the projected population for the planet is 9 Billion. These 210,000 people are our only lifeline to feeding the generations to come!

They need our help NOW. Please contact our elected representatives and request that they support the Farm Bill by the extension of the Bush tax cuts. The small farmer is a true representative of initiative and self-determination; he helps feed our Nation.

CCTA Member, Lou Call
New Bern, NC