Intro (00:04):

Angus at Work, a podcast for the profit-minded cattleman. Brought to you by the Angus Beef Bulletin, we have news and information on health, nutrition, marketing, genetics and management. So let’s get to work, shall we?

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Host (00:56):

Welcome to Angus at Work! I’m your host, Lynsey McAnally, and today we're covering something that so far has been about as clear as mud: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act. I said this on the last episode and I'll say it again today, but one of the beautiful things about working on the Angus Beef Bulletin team is that if we aren’t an expert on a topic, chances are we can find one. So with that said, Chelsea, welcome to the podcast!

Chelsea Good (01:19):

Lynsey, thanks so much for having me.

Host (01:21):

We are so excited to have you as a part of our team. You are a brand new columnist for us and I know our audience will look forward to seeing your first article in the January edition of the Angus Beef Bulletin. Today, do you mind giving us a little bit of background on yourself and telling us exactly what you do and your new role?

Chelsea Good (01:40):

Happy to. So my name is Chelsea Good. I’m an agriculturist, lobbyist, attorney and communicator. I grew up in the cattle industry showing and judging livestock. The ag policy bug bit pretty young for me. I was a National Beef Ambassador, had an opportunity to go to a National Cattlemen's Convention and really became fascinated with policy. Livestock policy in particular.

Professionally, I worked for the Kansas Department of Agriculture for a while in law school as their communications director and then later as a staff attorney and livestock policy expert. I spent about 12 years with the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) leading their federal and state policy work on behalf of your local livestock auctions. And then — most recently — I launched my own firm, Good and Associates. I am a multi-client firm that works on agriculture policy and issues management for a variety of clients and really excited to be part of the Angus family with the new column. It’s actually a little bit of a homecoming for me. I'm a former both Angus Journal and Certified Angus Beef brand intern.

Host (02:50):

That is incredible. And if you weren’t going to bring that up I was. We are certainly proud of our alumni over on the Angus Media team.

Back during the summer, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act  was passed. I’ve heard it called a couple different things. There’s some pretty fun acronyms out there that I’ve heard some people use, but since then I’ve listened to multiple sources. But it can be really hard to deep dive into it and figure out what parts of it are going to benefit farmers and ranchers and then what parts of it maybe we should take a look at and make sure that we are educated on them. So would I be incorrect in saying that this is not a simple piece of legislation?

Chelsea Good (03:31):

Oh, you’re absolutely correct. In fact, it was 870 pages long. It spanned a wide variety of topics — everything from tax to healthcare. In Congress, there's a limited opportunity to pass bills that require less than 60 Senate votes. And the reconciliation process, which is what the One Big Beautiful Bill Act  came out of, is one of those opportunities. And so when those opportunities come along, Congress tends to try and get as much as possible done in one piece of legislation. And that's certainly what we saw this summer with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Host (04:09):

Can you give us ... I know we'll go in and break this down a little bit more in an effort to help people track along with what exactly is in this bill, but can you give us a brief overview of what the bill is designed to do specifically for ag producers?

Chelsea Good (04:23):

For sure. So there are a handful of pieces that really affect agriculture significantly, the tax provisions for sure. In terms of a financial standpoint, the bill spent $65.5 billion over the next 10 years on agriculture. Of that $65.5 billion, $59 billion is dedicated towards what I'd call your core farm safety net enhancements. So that is higher reference prices for your Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and your Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. It also boosted crop insurance support. So a lot of the higher dollar-value components of the bill were really focused on those row crop producers. However, I think that there are components that are really key for livestock producers and, as I look at the bill, I think that those are mostly your tax provisions, some disaster assistance and also some animal health provisions as well.

Host (05:22):

And several of the webinars that I've sat in on, they've recommended talking to your tax professional about it. But do you mind giving us that overview from your perspective of what we need to keep in mind as far as the tax side of this bill.

Chelsea Good (05:37):

There's really four components that I think are important to highlight from a livestock perspective as it relates to tax, and what was included in the bill. Some estate tax relief. Section 199A, Section 179 expensing, and then also permanent bonus depreciation. I think it's important to keep in mind that this bill is coming off of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act  that passed in 2017. That was a major overhaul of the U.S. federal tax code and it really reformed individual business taxes, but there were a lot of pieces of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act  that were set to expire in 2025. So had Congress not acted, we would've seen some of the tax benefits that came out of that bill in 2017 go away. Thankfully, those components were for the most part able to be extended or even enhanced in some cases in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

So I'll talk about estate tax first. Some people call this death tax. The exemption was increased to $15 million per individual or $30 million per couple indexed for inflation. So that will continue to rise. Probably one of the most important things here is that this was made permanent and this was one of those things that was set to sunset or move back to much lower level. Had Congress not acted, the exemptions would've been roughly cut in half to an estimated $7 million per individual. So the estate tax relief was a big win for the livestock community, agriculture and really the business community overall in that One Big Beautiful Bill Act.  

A couple other pieces to keep in mind: One is Section 199A, which is a small business deduction. It was also made permanent. It keeps the 20% pass through deduction for qualified business income and this includes most family livestock operations. This was a deduction that was set to expire after Dec. 31, 2025. And so getting that made permanent was another huge win in this One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The second component of the tax pieces I wanted to talk about was from the expensing and deduction side. The expanded Section 179 expensing allows up to $2.5 million dollars in equipment purchases to be expensed. That does have a $4 million phase out and it is indexed for inflation, but that allows expensing of purchases like trucks and trailers, handling facilities. So expanding that Section 179 expensing was really important.

The other really key component from a tax perspective I'd like our listeners to know about is permanent, a 100% bonus depreciation. This allows immediate expensing of qualified capital investments rather than depreciating over multiple years. The bill does make this permanent. This is a provision that actually had already been experiencing some phase out under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  It had started at 100% and then it backed down to 80% in 2023 and 60% last year. It had been scheduled for 40% in 2025. So getting that bonus depreciation back up to 100% and making that permanent was another really big win from a tax perspective.

Host (08:53):

Awesome. And I think that again, as we kind of get into tax season after the first of the year, I've got friends that are working on taxes right now. It'll be even more important for people to take a look at the difference that this bill potentially has in their taxes and, if they don't have a tax professional, potentially finding one to ask some of these questions to make sure that they're getting the biggest benefit out of this possible.

Chelsea Good (09:20):

I 100% agree, Lynsey. I'm a big proponent of working with your tax professional in order to help reduce the amount of hard-earned money that you've earned that you have to send back to the federal government. I'm also just a big proponent of planning in general. As an attorney, I think it's important to recognize that that's a piece of being able to pass on our operations from generation to generation. Being able to plan is super important. So I am a big proponent of working with your tax professionals and doing that year-end and annual planning, but then also working with a combination of your tax and legal team to plan even further out from that. That's something I'm a huge advocate for our farmers and ranchers.

Host (10:06):

Estate planning is one that we've covered quite a bit. And so when you talk about estate tax relief, I think for our audience, two sections coming up here are pretty important. Not that everything else isn't, but these two I think are hot-button topics. So do you mind telling us about what the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is going to do for disaster assistance?

Chelsea Good (10:31):

Absolutely. This was another area where I saw huge wins for the livestock sector. Two different areas: One is the Livestock Indemnity Program. This is a program where producers can receive indemnity for livestock that are lost either to predation or adverse weather or disease. One big improvement in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act  is it actually now allows for 100% of market value for livestock that are lost to predation from a species that's protected by the federal law — so gray wolves, for example. Unfortunately we're seeing more and more producers, ranchers in a variety of places, California in particular, that are having significant losses due to ation there. And instead of the previous 75% indemnity for livestock loss under this One Big Beautiful Bill Act,  there's now going to be a 100% indemnity. The amount stays at 75% market value for livestock that are lost to adverse weather or to these.

But there is another component of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act  that provides a benefit and that is a payment for unborn livestock losses. That is a new benefit under that Livestock Indemnity Program. And it's actually retroactive, it goes back to Jan. 1, 2024. So there are some producers that had fire losses, for example, in Feb. 2024 that are actually going to be able to go back and receive payments for their unborn livestock losses in those disasters as well. So that's the Livestock Indemnity Program.

The other component that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act  improved was the Livestock Forage Disaster Program, or LFP, and that's the program that provides financial assistance to livestock producers that have experienced grazing losses due to either drought or fire. And this bill lowered the trigger for when LFP relief can be available from eight consecutive weeks of qualifying drought to four weeks. So it really reduced that threshold and hopefully will make that LFP program and that financial assistance available to more livestock producers who are, unfortunately, experiencing grazing losses due to drought or fire.

Host (12:51):

We talked about this a little bit earlier. Unfortunately, it seems like when we need rain, we don't get rain. When we don't need rain, it shows up. So it's pretty exciting to me that there are some further protections that are going to be available and retroactively as well. Again, I think we've seen parts of this country really burn up. I mean, for lack of a better term.

Chelsea Good (13:16):

You're absolutely right and these programs are, I think, just one way that we can help protect producers against those really bad weather situations. I think it's really important that we've got some tools available there because it's tough to — pardon the pun, but — weather a storm like a significant drought. And I think having some additional tools available is just one way that we can support producers going through those significant weather experiences.

Host (13:50):

I love that. And so you've got kind of another pun coming up real quick, but can you tell us about the three components of animal health that were included in that bill?

Chelsea Good (14:00):

For sure. We call it the three-legged stool. There are three animal health provisions that previously had been part of the Farm Bill  that actually were able to be funded by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.  And funded at a significant increase, roughly a sevenfold increase from where they'd been at previous levels. So one of those [legs] is the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank. The vaccine bank. $153 million a year is going to be dedicated to vaccines and countermeasures. This includes really important things like having a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine bank so that if FMD ever came to the United States, there's a level of having vaccine ready to be a part of the strategy in those events. So we've got more funds going to the vaccine bank.

Second component would be the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, or the NAHLN Network, $70 million a year is going for diagnostic lab capacity and those labs really are significantly utilized by the livestock industry with what we've seen in a recent year with HPAI or [Highly Pathogenic] Avian Influenza in the dairy sector, they've been significant users of that lab network and that is something that the bill went ahead and invested in on a pretty significant level.

And then the third piece is a program that was sought of in the Farm Bill that is getting some additional resources, and that's the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program, or NAD Prep. $10 million a year goes into that program through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act  and that is for planning, training and rapid response capacity. And so it's been kind of a fun program to watch grow as we've seen universities and industry groups and others submit projects that are in the preparedness for animal disease space and the federal government is funding some of those projects that help with animal disease preparedness and response planning.

Host (16:04):

So anything else that livestock producers need to keep in mind when it comes to this bill?

Chelsea Good (16:09):

There are a couple other components that I would flag as I think important for the livestock community that we're part of. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act  is a funding boost for conservation projects that are utilized by livestock and crop industry alike. For example, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Also, the Agriculture Conservation Easement Program and regional conservation partnership programs. All of those programs received a boost and some additional funding for voluntary conservation efforts for producers that choose to be involved in those efforts. Those will be available in the future and available at a higher level in some cases.

I also wanted to flag one other thing and that is a new trade promotion and facilitation program. So while not necessarily a direct impact, there's certainly an impact on the industry overall as it creates a permanent $285 million a year trade promotion program that is going to be actually layered on top of the existing programs and that is to support export promotion for U.S. beef, pork, dairy and other products, as well.

Host (17:23):

All of that sounds incredible and I think that our listeners probably are cheering over on their side of the mic to hear that there's this many good things happening in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.  Are there any things that we need to keep in mind or potential trade-offs with getting this bill passed down the line?

Chelsea Good (17:43):

One thing to keep in mind ... I actually think one additional positive thing is sometimes what didn't end up in the bill. There were some concerning components about federal land and access to federal land that were talked about that were not included in the bill. And for those producers — especially in the West — that utilize federal lands, that's a win as well.

You asked about trade-offs. I think one challenge we probably will see going forward is that the ag community was so successful in getting so many positive things in this bill that it's probably going to make a farm bill harder to get across the finish line in the future. That there were components of things that are traditionally addressed in the Farm Bill ... Actually that animal health three-legged stool would be a great example of that. In addition, the changes that were made to reference prices for ARC and PLC, those are things that are traditionally handled in the Farm Bill environment and there were some Farm Bill components that did not have a funding tie and really couldn't be addressed in this one One Big Beautiful Bill Act.  And so it's going to be more challenging to get a Farm Bill done. That being said, I have a lot of faith in our leadership of the House and Senate agriculture committees. They are committed and continuing to work on what does a Farm Bill look like? It's something that they're going to continue to work on and find a path forward.

Host (19:08):

That sounds great. Thank you for deep diving into that. So we mentioned earlier that you are a new guest here on the podcast, but certainly not a new face over on the Angus Beef Bulletin and Angus Journal side of things. After reading your January column, I'd love to hear your thoughts on whether producers should be concerned about recent comments related to bringing the price of beef down.

Chelsea Good (19:31):

That was a really fun piece to work on for the January Angus Beef Bulletin. I think it's fair for producers to have concerns. I think that any time there's an attempt to drive down the price of the final product — for us that's beef — that's obviously going to impact people throughout the supply chain. And the focus of some of those comments have obviously been on consumers. Not on producers, but on trying to drive down beef prices and increase affordability for consumers. But it has, I think, provided a teaching moment for our industry. We have a really complicated supply chain, and it's given the beef community an opportunity to really educate about how we currently are at a very low inventory number in the cow herd. Those tight supplies [are] the lowest it's been in 74 years. I think at the beginning of the year there was [27.9 million beef cows]. Low cattle supplies certainly are going to fundamentally lead to potentially higher prices, particularly when demand is good.

And I think that that's the positive thing that we as an industry all need to be thankful for. That demand has been really phenomenal for our product. And that has been the other factor that's been keeping prices high, as well. All of those things being said, there have been some recent comments … The Secretary of Agriculture in particular made some comments recently about volatility that indicates she's definitely heard these producer's concerns and is wanting to find a way to minimize the volatility. And so I think the concerns have been heard and this will be one of those situations that will continue to play out. That's kind of where we stand at the moment.

Host (21:13):

So similarly, there have been comments recently on investigating beef packers to ensure that everything is above board. Do you have a perspective on that or have you heard anything from other people in the industry?

Chelsea Good (21:27):

That has definitely been one of the things that has come out of this conversation about high beef prices and some of the maybe feedback that the administration heard from the industry about how maybe cattlemen can't always set the price themselves. I think one piece of perspective I might offer is that investigations are nothing new in this space. Actually, in the first Trump presidency, the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigated the spread between live cattle and box beef prices. That would've been during COVID and coming off of COVID when packer margins were really significant and live cattle prices were suffering. That investigation closed pretty quietly and without a whole lot of things that came out of it. And I think it is interesting that we're seeing another investigation kickoff now in a timeframe where the leverage in the marketplace is really pretty different. If you look at the earnings of some of the large beef packers that are public, you'll see that there's been significant losses in the last 12 months. And so it's a different point in the cycle, but once again, something that in hearing the DOJ they're going to take seriously and see what they find.

Host (22:39):

And I think that goes back to ... I mean some of us live in communities that are not too terribly far from some of these plants that are scaling back. And so it can be a little bit concerning when you hear that in the media. And I think that regardless of where anyone stands on the topic, I think it's important that we talk about it and make sure that our listeners in particular are aware of what's going on and have the facts

Chelsea Good (23:06):

Certainly. Those announcements, particularly Tyson closing a major beef plant in Lexington, Neb., and then also doing a shift in operations to the Amarillo plant to a single shift. Those are things that we've seen a lot of concerns throughout the industry about and also kind of match with what we were talking about earlier, Lynsey. About having the lowest supply level that we've had in quite some time. I think that there had been fear that that would cause some of the packers to make an adjustment and this is the first real major adjustment that we're seeing in that space.

Host (23:44):

It's not always pleasant news, but it's something I think, again, that is very important we all keep in mind. So thank you for touching on that. Down the line, if we see things change in the media, we'll be including that either on our social media or in the Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA. So if our listeners are looking for more information on that or if things change down the line, we'll be sure to bring you that info. Moving on to some things that we hear in the media! Earlier in the year the U.S.-Mexico border was shut down due to concerns over New World screwworm. And over the last couple of weeks, I've heard a number of different folks speak on the topic of a potential reopening. Not potential. I think it will happen, but the question is when will that happen both on the New World screw worm side and on the potential effect that reopening the border might have on cattle supply. Are there any facts or thoughts that you have on that border reopening, when that might happen and what that might look like?

Chelsea Good (24:52):

You're absolutely right, Lynsey. It's not if it will reopen, it's when. It will reopen. USDA is working towards that goal. There was a trip recently that Secretary Rollins' undersecretary of marketing regulatory programs took. The feedback from that trip is that they had a good trip. They're still not 100% confident in the containment, but they are pleased with some of the additional efforts they're seeing from Mexico and some of the additional countermeasures. And so based on that, it's not going to be an imminent reopening, but it's something that certainly is being worked towards. To give this a little bit of context for folks that aren't as familiar with the trade from Mexico, there's usually about 1.15 or so million Mexican feeder cattles that enter the U.S. every year and are fed out. So far this year, there's only been a little over 200,000 feeder cattle that have been imported from Mexico. So it obviously is a big shift in that supply and it will have a impact on the market when it reopens. But one thing to keep in mind is any reopening is likely to be gradual. One port at a time, kind of a phased in approach. It's probably not going to be a situation where the border reopens all at once, but rather has more of a gradual reopening.

Host (26:16):

I really appreciate your thoughts on that. And like I said, I think sometimes some of the things that we talk about can be a little bit of a moving target. This one definitely is. There's continually information out there that we're all aware of, but things can change quickly. And I think it's important, again, that we just keep an eye on what's happening. For any of our listeners that want a little bit more or a different perspective on where we're at as far as the border reopening and then getting into the effect that the border reopening might have on cattle markets and cattle supply, you can reference back to last week's episode over cattle markets with Derrell Peel. We always like to end Angus at Work, Chelsea, on a positive note. We're coming up on Christmas, so I'm curious, what is one thing happening in your life personally or professionally that you are thankful for?

Chelsea Good (27:15):

Oh, I absolutely love this question. My favorite thing about Christmas is the getting to spend time with family. And I'm really excited for this year. My husband and I and my stepdaughters — they're both in college — we are going to spend some time in Arizona with my husband's side of the family. But then the most exciting anticipated Christmas present for us is my brother ... I've got a brother that's 10 years younger than me. He and his wife have their second baby is due on Dec. 23. And so we're going to be in Colorado getting ready to welcome a new nephew for Christmas. And that's really exciting for me and my family,

Host (27:53):

Listen, I think you win the best anticipated Christmas present.

Chelsea Good (27:57):

I certainly think so. Great time of year for a baby.

Host (28:00):

That is so exciting. Well, hey, I just want to tell you, thank you so much for joining us and we are so looking forward to getting this episode out there in front of our audience for them to take a deep dive into. And again, folks, if you're looking for more information on what's going on with the markets, what's going on with policy, we are so excited that Chelsea has joined our team and will have a column in every single print edition of the Angus Beef Bulletin for 2026.

Chelsea Good (28:32):

Thanks, Lynsey. I really enjoyed the chance to visit with you and looking forward to continuing to work together in the new year.

Host (28:40):

Awesome. Thank you so much

Outro (28:48):

Listeners, for more information on making Angus work for you, check out the Angus Beef Bulletin and the Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA. You can subscribe to both publications in the show notes. If you have questions or comments, let us know at abbeditorial@angus.org and we would appreciate it if you would leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and share this episode with any other profit-minded cattlemen. Thanks for listening. This has been Angus at Work!