A Look at a Few Issues Facing our Agricultural Community – Remember – Food Doesn’t Come from the Grocery Store

Below is an overview of issues provided by the Illinois Farm Bureau and other ag resources. Please visit their website site for more in-depth discussion.

• Look to reform the Illinois Estate and Generation Transfer Tax Act to reflect modern farm estate evaluations and protect typical farm incomes from the tax. 
  • An estate in Illinois is only eligible for an exemption if the gross value is less than $4 million. If the estate is worth more than $4 million after including taxable gifts, a tax amount is calculated through a complex formula and is subject to a graduated state estate tax, with the entire estate being taxed. Illinois is one of a dozen states with an estate tax different from the federal amount, joining states such as New York and Connecticut. Reforming the estate tax would help allow families to retain and continue farming their land.
• Prohibit the use of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines, repeal eminent domain authority allowed for CO2 pipelines. 
  • Currently, if a pipeline project is approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), that approval grants eminent domain authority to the project. Similarly, this will also work to ensure eminent domain authority does not expand to include wind, solar, and energy developers.
• Continue advocating for protecting private property rights when infrastructure projects impact farmland, especially as demand for renewable energy and carbon capture projects increases.
  • IFB will also continue to advocate for private property protection on navigable waters.
• Extend the Agritourism Liability Insurance Tax Credit Program launched by the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) The tax credit was meant to offset the high costs associated with liability insurance premiums that could make up 20% to 30% of an agritourism operation’s costs. 
  • Illinois is one of the few Midwest states that does not offer limited liability protection, meaning agritourism operators are vulnerable to serious legal penalties if someone gets hurt at their business. The high cost of liability premiums and the threat of serious legal action can serve as a deterrent to those interested in entering the agritourism industry.
  • Under the program, agritourism operators can apply for a tax credit equal to 100% of the premium they paid during the tax year, up to $1,000. Eligible agritourism businesses included those providing historic, cultural, and on-site educational programs, tours, animal exhibitions and petting zoos, crop mazes, U-pick harvesting, horse rides, hayrides, and sleigh rides.

• Reforming the Illinois Department of Natural Resources deer management policies to allow farmers the ability to better manage nuisance deer causing damage to their farming operations. 
  • Nuisance deer can cause extreme property damage for farmers, including decimating crops.
  • Property owners seeking to remove nuisance deer must have a valid nuisance animal removal permit (NARP) issued by IDNR.

75% of Illinois is farmland, and it is important that we continue to protect our farmers from government overreach and continue to provide them the support they need so that they can continue to provide for us. Brownfield for the farmers!