The nation’s largest farm group says the reconciliation bill is riddled with concerns for agriculture.
Andrew Walmsley with American Farm Bureau says the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill could be doing more for farmers and ranchers, “When you look at an overall bill that’s about $3.5 trillion with little over $100 billion toward ag that’s targeted, it’s maybe a little bit short.”
While not intended to apply to livestock farms, Walmsley says they are not exempt from a potential methane tax, “You would be looking at $6,000 a head on dairy cattle, roughly $2,000 on beef, and about $500 a head on swine so something to watch closely,” he says, “Immediate impacts on ag is on inputs on the methane tax.”
Thankfully he says, some issues have been left off the table, “Thankfully because of the activism of our members, we’re not seeing some of the really terrible tax ideas—at least in the House bill,” he explains.
