{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=50BCC62A-6C8D-457F-BA1E-4483A5201A28", "Senator McConnell\u2019s Bill to Protect American Farmlands Signed Into Law", "2025-07-07", "2025", "2025-07", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", "mcconnell", "https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) praised passage of his legislation, The Protecting American Farmlands Act, which reduces the tax burden on selling farmland, encouraging farmers to keep their land in agricultural production and curbing the loss of farmland across the country. Senator McConnell introduced the legislation in March and worked to secure it in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law by President Trump on Independence Day.\n\nThe Kentucky Farm Bureau, a supporter of Senator McConnell\u2019s legislation, recently launched the Kentucky Farmland Transition Initiative (KFTI), a coalition aimed at uncovering ways to help farmers transition acreage to future generations of farmers. KFTI found that farmers tend to hold onto their land to avoid paying capital gains taxes on their property. The Protecting American Farmlands Act would defer the capital gains tax over a 4-year period if they sell their land to a farmer who will keep it in agricultural production for a minimum of ten years.\n\n\u201cThe Protecting American Farmlands Act addresses the steady decline in available farmland by easing the tax burden on our hardworking producers. This is a huge win for Kentucky farmers and will help preserve our vital farmland for future generations,\u201d said Senator McConnell.\n\n\u201cWe are excited to see the inclusion of capital gains tax relief in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This is a direct result of Senator Mitch McConnell\u2019s efforts on the issue, which includes his legislation, the Protecting American Farmlands Act,\u201d said Eddie Melton, President, Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation. \u201cThis is a crucial first step in providing America\u2019s farmers capital gains relief while incentivizing keeping farmland in the hands of active farmers. This will provide farmers with another tool when looking to transition their land while also addressing the drastic loss of farmland across the country. Senator McConnell has long been a champion for Kentucky agriculture, and this legislation is a testament to his commitment to the American farmer and the future security of America\u2019s food supply.\u201d\n\nAccording to the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture:\n\nOver the past twenty years, Kentucky farmland acreage has declined from 13.8 million acres in 2002 to 12.4 million acres in 2022.\n\nIn just the last five years, Kentucky lost 546,000 acres of farmland, an average of 290 acres lost per day.\n\nIn the last five years, the number of farmers in Kentucky has decreased 9%.\n\nThe number of farms in Kentucky has decreased from 86,541 farms in 2002 to 69,425 farms in 2022.\n\nThe average age of a Kentucky farmer is 57.1 years old, and approximately 1.3 million farmers nationwide are now at or beyond retirement age.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:48:13Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=50BCC62A-6C8D-457F-BA1E-4483A5201A28"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9524039924144745, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}