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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 52 • April 23, 2022
True Colors Anytime I see news coming out of the Biden administration effecting public lands in the West, myself and other multiusers on these lands get nervous. Lately, I have been reading some important news and expecting more to come from the administration, which could From the Publisher really have an effect on public lands Dennis Sun and the way they are managed. We realize the president campaigned on climate change issues and it has to fit in most all of his decisions. We also know the president is dead set against America producing oil and natural gas and wants more renewable energy. Couple this with some huge spending programs Congress passed, supply chain issues and an ongoing war in Ukraine, we’ve got a hefty inflation rate here in America. In fact, it’s the highest rate in 40 years. This inflation rate is not making the president look too good and has given him an approval rating of around 33 percent, which is not good. To help his cause he has tried to lower the cost of gasoline by releasing some oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve and now is allowing drilling on public lands. Releasing the cheap oil from the reserve and then having to replace it with expensive oil will not do us much good. Until we see what restrictions are placed on drilling on public lands, I don’t see too many oil companies in a hurry to drill, especially since the mineral rights percentage has been raised for the government. But, they are hoping gasoline prices will go down and the president can take credit for it to improve public opinion. Farmers and ranchers are nervous over revising the rules of the Waters of the U.S. This would hamper more than just agriculture. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is also revising sage grouse plans. These revised plans may hinder all users. I’m sure there will be some changes, but hopefully not too restrictive for those involved in energy and agriculture. The BLM has taken outcome grazing, a successful program initiated by the last administration, and is trying to work it into the 30x30 plan, also called, America the Beautiful. The president has built up quite a smoke screen, shutting down America while trying to improve the administration’s approval ratings. I don’t think it’s working. You can’t flip a switch and stop oil production or place so many restrictions on grazing permits so there is no grazing on federal lands. The BLM says they want to work together with other users to manage the lands, which I hope is the case, because it is what Wyoming and surrounding states have been doing for years. It’s a better decision made by stakeholders than a judge’s ruling or a decision made in Washington, D.C. These decisions are not easy to make, every area or grazing allotment requires a site-specific decision made by people who know the land and have some chips in their hand. With energy, agriculture and recreation all wanting to use the land, it’s a real balancing act. Hopefully by working together, the decisions will have support of the stakeholders. Coming close to the midterm of the president’s four years in office, we’ll see the president’s true colors in regards to public lands. I just hope it will be for the good.
GUEST OPINIONS Working to Preserve Wyoming Livelihoods By Congresswoman Liz Cheney Earlier this month, I joined a bipartisan group of colleagues in the House of Representatives on a Congressional resolution recognizing the importance of the stepped-up basis provision in the tax code to preserve family-owned farms, ranches and small businesses. Across Wyoming, our family ranches and farms depend upon being able to pass their operations from one generation to the next without the overwhelming burden imposed by inheritance taxes. The stepped-up basis provision is a crucial element in ensuring our family farms and ranches can continue to do what they do best: feed our state and nation. Especially in the aftermath of the pandemic, which presented unprecedented challenges for our ag industry and other related small businesses, the last thing we should be doing is saddling this community with more government overreach and higher capital gains taxes. The resolution I am co-sponsoring calls for three specific things: expresses unwavering support for the preservation of the stepped-up basis provision; conveys opposition to any effort to impose new taxes on family farms or small businesses; and recognizes the importance of generational transfers of farm and small business operations. Maintaining this provision is necessary for the preservation of family farms and ranches, not only in Wyo-
ming, but across the country. An analysis done by Texas A&M University suggests without steppedup basis, the average additional tax liability for farms would rise to $726,104. Another study, from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, finds the average value of agricultural land and buildings was $1,050 per acre in 2000, which is 52 times greater than the average of $20 per acre in 1900. Imposing massive tax burdens on farms passed down through families will put our farmers and ranchers out of business and end operations which have been in some families for decades and longer. Far too frequently, inheritors of family farm-
land have been forced to sell some, or all, of the inheritance to meet tax obligations. This is devastating for our ag families, and also for our local communities. U.S. Department of Agriculture figures indicate over 98 percent of American farms are family-owned. Without the stepped-up basis, 66 percent of all mid-sized farms would face an increased tax liability. The resolution I co-sponsored to protect this essential provision has the support of the American Farm Bureau, Nationals Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, USA Rice, National Grange and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, who all recognize the importance of maintaining this critical tax tool. Protecting the stepped-up basis tax provision is vital to ensuring the next generation of farmers and ranchers can continue feeding and fueling the world, and I am proud to fight for Wyoming’s ag industry and our farm and ranch families. Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) serves as Wyoming’s lone member of Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives and was first elected in 2016, on a platform of pursuing conservative solutions to help create jobs, cut taxes and regulation, expand America’s energy, mining and ag industries and restoring America’s strength and power in the world.
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2. HIS HERD GETS 3-10% HIGHER BREED-UP THAN THE NEIGHBOR’S 3. HE WEANS CALVES 10-40 LBS HEAVIER THAN THE NEIGHBOR’S
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