IDEAg Group, producers of the Amarillo Farm & Ranch Show, is working with the North Texas Hemp Cooperative, Texas Hemp Growers Association and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension to provide a forum for farmers and farm managers to learn more about hemp and ask questions of a panel of expert speakers gathered for sessions. The morning session will cover topics that help attendees determine if hemp is right for their business; the afternoon session will provide answers to questions from industry leaders as well as give a full understanding of risk and reward from a neutral position.

“There is a lot of interest, enthusiasm and curiosity around hemp in Texas,” said Richard Forrester, director of the North Texas Hemp Cooperative. “We look forward to answering the hard questions farmers have about placing hemp in their crop rotation.”

“We are pleased to work with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and the Amarillo Farm & Ranch Show to bring this information to panhandle growers,” said Delmon Ellison, board president, THGA. “Our mission for this learning session is to provide growers with unbiased information that will enable them to make the best decisions for their operations.”

Also new at the show this year is COTTON U presented by High Plains Journal and IDEAg Group. This free, half-day event features industry experts and farmer panelists focused on topics such as managing cotton in a short-season environment, irrigation and sustainability.

The Texas Wheat Symposium and Ag Appreciation Luncheon takes place on Dec. 4 and features farm policy and wheat market outlooks as well as a keynote address from Ray Starling, former chief of staff to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.

As always, the halls of the Amarillo Civic Center will be lined with more than 400 exhibitors showcasing products, services and technology for the ag industry. Companies represented range across categories such as harvesting equipment, cattle and other livestock handling equipment, irrigation, and parts and maintenance services.

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation 

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“Farm and ranch families often face a significant financial burden when they have to pay estate taxes,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. 

“Farm families should be able to pay based on how their land is actually used, rather than its potential value as commercial property such as a shopping center. AFBF commends Representatives Panetta and Warlorski for introducing the Preserving Family Farms Act of 2019, which will give more families hope they can hold on to the farm when a loved one passes. We strongly urge House members to co-sponsor this important bill.”

The legislation modernizes the special use valuation provision of the estate tax. This valuation allows the property to be appraised as farmland rather than its development value when determining estate taxes. Increasing the amount of farmland or ranchland that can be valued at agriculture value rather than development value would help protect family-owned farm and ranch businesses by assessing estate taxes on the actual value of the businesses they have spent decades building.

“Allowing more farmland to qualify for special use valuation would elevate this provision of the tax code to its proper place as a helpful estate planning tool,” Duvall said.

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation

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“Farmers and ranchers, who have already seen a drastic 50% decline in net farm income in the last four years, must have access to fixed and mobile broadband to be more efficient, economical and responsive to environmental needs,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said in a letter urging the committee to pass the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (DATA).

While most Americans take broadband for granted, data compiled by the Federal Communications Commission shows that 26.4 percent of rural Americans lack access to broadband compared to only 1 percent of urban Americans.

“However, an asterisk must be used alongside these figures because the current data and maps used to collect broadband coverage is flawed and fails to accurately determine broadband access,” Duvall noted.

The main problem with broadband coverage maps is that they rely on census block data to determine which areas are covered. Census blocks are too large in rural and remote locations to accurately determine which areas are actually in need. If even one household in a given census block is reported by a provider as being served, then the entire block is considered served. With census blocks larger than 2 square miles comprising more than 64 percent of the U.S. land area, every rural area is impacted by this problem in some way.

To help improve broadband accessibility maps, the Broadband DATA Act would establish a serviceable location fabric, which would serve as a baseline for served, underserved and unserved broadband areas.

“With limited funding and an overabundance of need, more granular and accurate maps are critical to successfully target and distribute federal broadband programs,” Duvall said.

In addition, the bill would require the FCC to establish an audit process that ensures internet service providers are providing accurate data., It also would create a user-friendly challenge process.

The Broadband DATA Act is similar to another Farm Bureau-supported bill, the Broadband Data Improvement Act. Farm Bureau also backs the Senate version of the Broadband DATA Act, though it is slightly different than the House bill. The Senate’s Broadband DATA Act was approved by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in July.

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation

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