Summer 2018

T R E E F A R M N E W S www.wvfa.org Summer 2018 |  West Virginia Forestry Association Mountain State Forestry 27 Farm Bill THE BIG TALK IN WASHINGTON at the end of the first quarter of 2018 might be the Farm Bill. Passed every five years, the Farm Bill contains Congress’ comprehensive agricultural policy, affecting not only row crops, but conservation efforts, nutrition programs, rural development initiatives, and (most important for Tree Farmers) forestry. But while the Farm Bill does have a separate forestry title, many successful forest conservation activities are funded in the conservation title. You may be familiar with conservation programs like the highly- effective Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Under EQIP, family woodland owners can receive payments for conservation practices that address priority resource concerns, like removing hazardous fuels or restoring forests. In 2016, more than $84 million went to funding forest practices! In today’s budgetary climate, negotiations on farm bill programs across the board are expected to be tight. As the Agriculture Committees look for potential cost savings, program usage and effectiveness will likely be important discussion points. For this reason, AFF is making sure to educate lawmakers and the public on the effectiveness of Farm Bill programs in forestry. Last year, we released the 2017 Forests in the Farm Bill report, detailing how important to forest success the Farm Bill is. The bottom line: In just the past three years, the Farm Bill’s conservation and forestry programs helped family woodland owners conduct conservation efforts across more than 10 million acres. That’s more than 9,000 acres of family-owned forestland improved per day!  Casualty Loss Bill for Forest Landowners The federal bill HR 4962, the Forest Recovery Act, eliminates the 'basis limitation rule,' allowing any individual or business that grows trees with the intention of sale, to deduct up to the fair market value of loss. This helps forest landowners recover causalities of a catastrophic event.  Federal Bill