As Washington prepares to debate the reauthorization of the farm bill in 2023, one group of grower leaders is well-positioned as a valuable resource for corn growers and policymakers.
The Risk Management and Transportation Action Team (RMTAT) – which oversees much of NCGA’s public-policy work on transportation, the farm safety net and federal taxes – will play an active role in preparing NCGA for the 2023 farm bill.
“NCGA will soon roll out key findings from our nationwide risk management survey of fellow corn growers,” said RMTAT Chairman Bill Leigh.” We are also spending time evaluating current farm bill commodity and crop insurance programs, continuing to support strong risk management tools, and looking for areas of improvement. And implementation of disaster assistance will once again be on the team’s agenda for the year.”
The team is building off a successful year, which saw historic federal investments in domestic infrastructure. Implementation of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is underway, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers already announcing allocations this month to repair and update locks for the inland waterways. Keeping a competitive edge for American agriculture will require monitoring and addressing disruptions to the transportation system and supply chains.
While corn growers were recently successful at defending against harmful tax increases, the work to protect key tax provisions never stops. The current estate and gift tax exemptions will automatically lower in several years unless addressed by Congress. This year, RMTAT will continue working to protect important provisions in the tax code against current and future threats.
RMTAT consists of 13 NCGA grower leaders, including a liaison from the NCGA Board of Directors, 2 state staff and 3 NCGA staff members.