Sen. Elder Vogel (R- Lawrence County) recently introduced legislation that would encourage existing farmers and landowners to work with news farmers to help get their careers started.
Under the bill, landowners would receive a one-time personal income tax credit for the sale of property or a multiyear tax credit for the lease of property.
In Pennsylvania, there is one farmer younger than 35 for every four farmers older than 65. Farmer 55 years of age or older manage 41 percent of farmland.
“Those statistics highlight the challenges that new farmers face when looking to start a farm of their own,” Vogel said. “None of our neighboring states offer a similar tax credit program, so this is a way to show the agriculture community that Pennsylvania is open for business. My bill, which is modeled after a successful program in Minnesota, would help change the trend. In the first year of its program, Minnesota offered $2.3 million in tax credits to nearly 450 landowners.”
Vogel is a fourth-generation dairy farmer. Before being elected to Congress, he was president of the Beaver-Lawrence Farm Bureau and served on the Pennsylvania Beef Council board of directors. He is a current member of the Big Knob Antique Tractor & Equipment Association, the Beaver-Lawrence Farm Bureau, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and the Pennsylvania Holstein Association.