Waiting in the wings is the Farm Bill.....

Waiting in the wings is the Farm Bill; I know, you don't own a farm so why should you be concerned?


Consider what follows:
If the Farm Bill is not passed this session this is what will happen:

The current death/inheritance tax is 35% on property over $5 million.

If nothing is done, it will increase to 55% on property over $1 million.

For those family farms located next to large metropolitan areas such as Charlotte, Raleigh, and Wilmington the property values are MUCH higher then 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! IF something is not done in this lame duck session, all who have worked so hard, some working 365 days a year sun up to sun down planning to leave their way of life to their children, all will be lost. Families are already having a hard time of it with the way it stands now! We will be saying good-bye to the smaller family owned farms once and for all because they will sell the equipment and land to pay the taxes.

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....!

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 then we ever imagined.

If you were to look at Craven County through Congressional Districts 1 and 3 here are the Agriculture Stats:

Dist.1-
19% of all jobs
6.0 BILLION in impact
23% of District GDP
3rd highest district GDP in the state
4th highest in Ag employment

Dist. 3-
20% of jobs
16% of district GDP
6 BILLION in impact
4th highest district GDP in the state
3rd 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!

The "sale" of these lands turning them into residential areas will require water, sewer, electrical (utility hook-ups), more city and county personnel...(law enforcement etc.) to manage these areas as populations increase. As the government manpower and services increase, SO DOES OUR TAXATION!

Farmland is beneficial in so many ways, the obvious food, fiber and forestry it supplies, the lack of government needed to manage it, and the inclusion it provides for our military in practicing maneuvers & flyovers-(the military is NC's 2nd biggest industry!). Governments think more housing, more taxpayers, ....but the truth is, open spaces save taxpayers!

Finally, Food security is important to national security in many ways.....when we (or a portion of the country) is unable to grow food due to natural disasters, most recently droughts, we depend on other parts of the country supplying us and visa-versa. When no-one is able to meet the demand it puts or dependence once again on other countries, you see how well that is working with oil don't you?!

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!

Statistical information is available through the NC Farm Bureau

Source: USDA/NASS and Dr. Mike Walden, NCSU

YOU can make a difference by contacting:

Senator Richard Burr
Ph:  202-224-3154; Fax:  Fax: (202) 228-2981

217 Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC 20510


Senator Kay Hagan
Ph:  202-224-6342; Fax:  202-228-2563

521 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC District 3)
Ph: 202-225-3415; Fax: 202-225-3286

2333 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

G.K. Butterfield (NC District 1)
Ph:  202-225-3101; Fax: (202) 225-3354

2305 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

Ask them to pass the FARM BILL!!  Remember phone calls are good, written letters have even more impact!