During the recent Iowa Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, members were able to become educated on different topics in managing their operations for the future, as well as strengthening their rural communities. They also received an update as to where things are in the seat of power, Washington, D.C. American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Vice President of Public Affairs, Sam Kieffer, was at the meeting to talk about national policies and how the AFBF was in the thick of things, advocating for Iowa farmers and producers around the country.
Kieffer started out by saying that with a new administration, there are always growing pains as you learn to work with each other. He added that while the organization and the Biden Administration do not see eye to eye on everything, the AFBF is having productive talks and relaying how different policies will affect their members and farmers across the country. One of those discussions centered around stepped-up basis, and the battle lines that were drawn on using that to fund the Administration?s new efforts.
Kieffer says that while they saw the intent behind the proposal, which was to look at the taxes paid by billionaires with private jets and offshore accounts, they were going to have unintended consequences on family farmers. Kieffer says that while AFBF was able to work on this priority, it was ultimately the farmers who did the leg work. They told their stories to their elected officials on both sides of the aisle. They explained the consequences these policies would have on farming in America. Kieffer says that AFBF was there to help support those stories with the collection of data they had gathered and was shared with them by land grant universities.
With the capital gains tax and stepped-up basis in the rearview, they are now focusing on the Waters of the United States rule. This is the third administration to come up with a third different program to oversee water quality. Kieffer explained the concerns they have with the proposal coming from the Biden Administration and where they would like to see clearer guidelines and commonsense regulations. They want to see water quality protected and improved, not more layers of government bureaucracy.
Kieffer says that the AFBF and farmers understand the outcry for better water quality. He says that farmers are right along with those voices. They live off the land they farm. They have to drink the water and make a living from the soil. Protecting their quality is protecting the family farm for future generations. However, he adds that there is a misconception about how land is regulated. There are those that believe that without broad-stroke Federal laws, everybody is just running amok when it comes to land management. Many states and local governments have strict rules and regulations already in place. There doesn?t have to be more Federal oversight on top of that. These states know how to protect their land because it is their land.
The trickiest part of any policy work is navigating the current political climate in Washington. Kieffer says that with slim majorities, any successful legislation needs to have bipartisan support, and his team won?t get behind any legislation that does not have that kind of support. Kieffer says it is frustrating when majority parties try to manipulate the rules to use the simple majority to pass controversial legislation. He says that it is a tactic that both parties will use, and it isn?t in the best interest of the country. He says that the mission of the AFBF is to keep telling our story.
Kieffer says that the AFBF will stick to their game plan of having their farmer members engage with the elected officials of both parties, to help effectively tell the story of American agriculture. It had good results in the fight over stepped-up basis, and they believe it will continue to work out for the future of ag policy.
