'Fiscal cliff' deal extended old farm bill

MFU is disappointed that instead of passing a five-year farm bill, Congress chose instead to extend the 2008 Farm Bill through Sept. 30, 2013, essentially discarding legislation that would provide some measure of certainty for Montana’s farmers and ranchers as well as meaningful deficit reduction.

American farm policy is what historically has kept food for the public affordable. While the extension does ensure that covered commodities do not revert to 1949 law, which would have triggered large food cost increases, there are many deficits in the recent action.

The provisions included in the fiscal cliff deal were not a straight extension of the 2008 bill. Numerous programs are authorized but not funded.

Specifically, the legislation fails to provide disaster aid for farmers or livestock producers, and the legislation provides no mandatory funding for the energy title, specialty crop and organic provisions, beginning farmer and rancher programs, and numerous conservation measures, among others.

One positive inclusion in the fiscal cliff bill was that the estate tax is now permanent and was set at a $5 million exemption for individuals, $10 million for couples (indexed for inflation) and taxed at a 40 percent rate. MFU has supported a similar provision and appreciates the certainty this brings for estate tax planning purposes.

We believe that Montana agriculture producers would have been better served by the passage of a new five-year bill, such as was crafted by the U.S. Senate and the House Agriculture Committee. Nevertheless, MFU stands ready to work with the new Congress to produce a farm bill as soon as possible.

Alan Merrill is the president of the Montana Farmers Union.