Associate Farm reporter Carli Davenport spoke with Dr. Amy Hagerman from Oklahoma State University, who explained how the new One Big, Beautiful Bill builds on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. “Some of those provisions have been drawing down over time. Some of them are still at that level, but would have expired in 2025. The One Big, Beautiful Bill tax components actually extended or made permanent a lot of those changes.” She noted that while the bill may look like a overhaul, “some of those changes had already been in place for a couple of years.”
For farmers, Hagerman emphasized the importance of working closely with tax professionals to make the most of these provisions. “Have a conversation with your tax preparer ahead of time about the timing of those because timing is really going to matter on some of these,” she said. Decisions about large sales, improvements, or asset purchases could have very different outcomes depending on how they are handled under the new rules.
Passing farms down to the next generation is another area where the bill could provide relief. Hagerman explained that it builds on “stepped-up basis” rules that prevent heirs from being burdened with heavy taxes on inherited land. “We’re going to have very few farms that won’t fall under that level that is in the One Big, Beautiful Bill going forward,” she said. She also pointed to expanded crop insurance subsidies for younger producers, calling it a meaningful step to help new farmers get established.
Hagerman highlighted changes to the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), which compensates cattle producers when they lose animals to disasters. In the past, payments didn’t fully account for bred cows carrying calves. “Now under these new One Big, Beautiful Bill changes, producers will be able to get the payment for the cow and get 85% of the value of the calf that she’s still carrying at that point,” she said. With Oklahoma disasters often striking during spring calving season, she stressed, “that’s really beneficial.”
On the push from House Agriculture Chairman Glenn Thompson for a “skinny farm bill” by September 30, Hagerman was weary. “I think we don’t have enough days left in September to make that happen,” she said, pointing to competing priorities like appropriations. Instead, she suggested a more realistic timeline: “We start thinking about the potential for that skinny farm bill by December 31 and I think there’s some different pathways that that could go.”
Hagerman shared what she’s been hearing directly from producers across the state. “There’s an appreciation of the improved safety net from this,” particularly the ability to add base acres where they were previously lacking. Producers also welcome the tax changes and greater flexibility in payment rules. But she said concerns remain about “where commodity prices are currently,” as well as access to global markets and the competitiveness of U.S. goods abroad. In her words, “there’s an appreciation for what’s been done, but some awareness that we still have a lot of work to do.”
