Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) member livestock marketing businesses have a front row seat to the continued loss of livestock producers across the U.S. and see this as a critical threat to the livestock industry and our nation’s food supply.

Livestock producers face challenges with land, labor, over-regulation, and input costs. We also continue to see grazing and forage production land lost to recreation, development, conservation reserve programs (CRP), and crop production.   

By supporting America's farmers and ranchers, we are supporting the future of livestock marketing, too.

In the below video, LMA Board Member Joe Goggins provides his insight into the issue.

The big issues 

Tax Issues

We must fight to eliminate the estate tax, also known as the death tax, so farms and ranches can stay in the family, generation after generation. But at the very minimum, we need to keep the current estate tax cap, which will sunset in 2025.

We must also protect special use valuation methods available to agricultural landowners that allow property taxes to be calculated based on productive agricultural value, as opposed to market value of the land.

Creating incentives for keeping land in livestock production

If there were incentives for keeping land for livestock and forage production, more new producers could enter the industry. This helps those who do not already own or lease land do so in a more affordable manner.

Creating opportunity to compete for land and margin

Existing programs such as Livestock Risk Protection (LRP), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Pasture Rangeland Forage (PRF) insurance program, and programs providing capital should be adjusted to allow livestock and forage producers to better compete with grain production for land.

Guard against unfunded mandates

USDA is finalizing a rule requiring electronic ear tags for sexually intact beef cattle 18 months of age or older and dairy cattle of any age crossing state lines. The new electronic tags are nine times as expensive as the existing ones. At the same time they are requiring this change, USDA is attempting to abandon its longstanding practice of paying for tags. This means livestock auctions will have to shoulder this expense or be forced to pass it on to their producer customers. If the rule is to be finalized, it cannot be an unfunded mandate. Congress should fix this by continuing to provide USDA clear direction to provide all required tags and infrastructure necessary under the Animal Disease Traceability program.

How you can help 

By working together, all industry segments can accomplish so much more than working individually. There is truly strength in numbers, and it will take us all to build a stronger, more sustainable livestock industry.

Every voice matters, and every conversation gets us a little closer to our goal.

To help, reach out to those in your network — and to the agricultural organizations you belong to — and share ideas.