Time for Lawmakers to Get to Work in 2025

With a new Congress and Administration sworn in, it’s time to get back to work in Washington. Just like there’s never a shortage of work to be done on the farm, there’s a full list of issues that our leaders and lawmakers will need to tackle this year.

Top of mind for farm and ranch families are important tax provisions that are expiring this year. Lawmakers have signaled that they plan to make this a priority, and we need to hold them to it. If we lose tax provisions like the small business income deduction and bonus depreciation, farm families will see a serious tax hike on their businesses, placing their farms and our food security in a tight spot. Also set to expire is the higher estate tax exemption rate. Farm families simply cannot plan for the future if they have to worry about selling off land when a loved one dies. We need to ensure our tax code keeps our farm businesses economically sustainable not only for next season but also for generations to come.

Another pressing issue for farmers across the country is the labor shortage. It’s unacceptable that we have been talking about this issue for decades now, without a solution from Congress that works for all of agriculture. Yes, we have had our hopes raised from time to time, but politics have always stood in the way of delivering a solution that works for farms of all sizes, all commodities, and all regions of the country. Farm Bureau has not slowed down our work here, and we will not let up until lawmakers come to the table with legislation that addresses worker shortages and updates our guestworker program in a way that works for farmers and our employees.

Speaking of issues that Congress let politics stand in the way of … It’s time for lawmakers to pass a modernized farm bill. We were thankful Congress included over $30 billion in agriculture assistance plus a farm bill extension at the end of 2024, but that is simply not enough for farmers and ranchers trying to hang on from one season to the next. The 2018 farm bill is long outdated, now that Congress has been kicking the can down the road for two years. The most recent USDA Census of Agriculture showed that we had lost more than 141,000 farms across the country over a five-year period. That’s roughly 77 farms a day. Our nation cannot afford to lose more. We expect this Congress to pass a modernized farm bill that meets the needs of farmers and ranchers, then send it to the President's desk for his signature.

Of course, these aren’t the only issues agriculture is facing in 2025. We have work to do on a number of matters from regulatory oversight to restoring the balance of fairness in the Federal Milk Marketing Order system. We also are looking forward to engaging our leaders on the importance of expanding trade opportunities for farmers, and exploring opportunities to help our rural communities thrive.

Farmers and ranchers know our families, our communities and our nation are counting on us to produce a safe, nutritious and sustainable food supply. That’s why we’ll be doing our part across Farm Bureau to engage with our leaders and lawmakers to ensure they understand the issues impacting our farms, ranches and rural communities, and make agriculture is a top priority in 2025.