Jackson Purchase News

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell has introduced a new bill titled The Protecting American Farmlands Act, aiming to reduce the tax burden on farmers selling their land. This legislation encourages keeping farmland in agricultural production, addressing the decline of available farmland across the country.

During a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, Senator McConnell highlighted the importance of this bill for farmers, particularly in Kentucky. "American farmers, especially those in Kentucky, are grappling with a steady decline in available farmland. Now more than ever, we must preserve our agricultural land and keep it in production for the next generation of producers," said McConnell.

The Kentucky Farm Bureau supports this legislation and has initiated the Kentucky Farmland Transition Initiative (KFTI) to assist farmers in transitioning acreage to future generations. KFTI discovered that capital gains taxes deter farmers from selling their land. The new act proposes exempting these taxes if the land is sold to other farmers who commit to maintaining its agricultural use for at least ten years.

Eddie Melton, President of the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, expressed support: "Kentucky Farm Bureau is proud to stand alongside Senator McConnell once again in championing legislation that strengthens the future of American agriculture." He emphasized that this initiative provides retiring farmers with viable options to transition their operations.

The 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture reports a significant decline in Kentucky's farmland over two decades. From 2002 to 2022, acreage dropped from 13.8 million acres to 12.4 million acres. In recent years alone, 546,000 acres have been lost.

Senator McConnell's initiative seeks not only to curb these losses but also provide financial benefits for retiring farmers by allowing them to invest profits into retirement savings accounts without incurring capital gains taxes.