Happy September, Nevada Cattlemen and Women! I hope you are all doing well as you get into your busy fall work schedules. I had a chance to attend National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville, TN last month where a major topic of discussion was sustainability. Our industry faces a wide array of challenges including drought, wildfire, taxes, market disparities, etc. but one of the emerging challenges we face is the public perception of whether beef production is “sustainable” or not.
Climate change is something we hear about nearly every day and we’ve seen a constant barrage of misinformation on beef production’s impacts on the environment. If you get a chance, Google the words beef and environment. You’ll see articles such as “The Real Problem with Beef” by the New York Times or “Got Beef? Here’s What Your Hamburger is Doing to The Environment” from Forbes. Environmentalists and fake meat companies are working overtime to give beef production a black eye.
Here are a few things to think about:
- Cattle grazing improves grassland soil health and carbon storage.
- Cattle grazing helps mitigate the risk of catastrophic wildfires.
- Cattle are ruminants that recycle carbon as part of the natural carbon cycle.
- Cattle upcycle a diet that is 90% inedible to humans into nutritious protein.
- Cattle methane accounts for only 2% of all U.S. Green House Gas Emissions.
- The U.S. has had the lowest beef Green House Gas emissions intensity in the world since 1996.
- The U.S. beef industry reduced its emissions by more than 40% from 1961-2018.
The U.S. produces the most sustainable beef in the world. Ranchers protect habitat for wildlife, maintain the health of native ecosystems, and employ grazing management practices that sequester carbon. Cattle producers work hard to protect air and water quality, not only to preserve the health of their animals, but for the health of their families and communities. We all know this, but the public is a different story. It’s imperative that our industry tells our story.
Another hot topic is taxes. Buried deep within the Biden Administration’s American Families Plan is a proposal to change two major tax provisions which includes raising the top end of the capital gains rate to 39.6% and nixing Section 1014 of the Internal Revenue Code which allows for “stepped up basis”.
Under current law, passing down a family business to the next generation does not impose a capital gains tax burden on the business or its new owners. Rather, the decedent’s tax basis in the business is “stepped-up” to fair market value, preventing a large capital gains tax bill on the growth in the business’s value.
If implemented, these changes would hit family-owned businesses, farms, and ranches hard, particularly in rural communities. Our businesses consist largely of liquid assets that might need to be sold or leveraged in order to pay the new tax burden. Business operators could be forced to sell property, lay off employees, or close their doors just to cover these new tax obligations.
The Nevada Cattlemen’s Association is hard at work with our Congressional delegation making sure they are aware of the significant impacts these tax increases would have on Nevada agriculture. Recently, the U.S. Senate held a budget reconciliation vote where Senator John Thune from South Dakota introduced an amendment that protects stepped up basis. The amendment, while non-binding, passed 99 to 0 signaling that the Senate is in support of protecting the important stepped-up basis tax provision. I’d like to thank Nevada Senators Rosen and Cortez for supporting such a crucial measure. As Congress continues debating tax policy, we encourage our Federal delegation to continue to support sound policy that promotes the next generation of ranchers and farmers.
As a reminder the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association Annual Convention will take place in Elko on December 9-11. I encourage those of you who want to participate to please attend the convention and committee meetings. The convention is your opportunity to voice your opinion and help set policy that will guide the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association forward. For current and up to date information on things happening at the NCA, please follow us on Facebook and visit our web page at nevadacattlemen.org as we are constantly updating it. If you have questions regarding any of our upcoming events, please feel free to contact the NCA office at 775-738-9214 or email nca@nevadabeef.org.
We wish you luck on your fall work as we understand this is a busy time for all.
by Martin Paris | NCA Executive Director | O: 775-738-9214