USDA farming rule creates new loopholes with change

A draft rule issued by USDA aims to define what it means to be ‘actively engaged’ in farming. The proposed rule makes some important changes, but those improvements are immediately undermined by two new loopholes introduced in the rule.

The draft rule, somewhat unabashedly, only applies to farms that are large enough to “require” quadruple the statutory limit. You can abuse the rules, as long as you only abuse them up to $500,000 ($1 million if you’re married) each year.

Moreover, as drafted, farms made up solely of family members are excluded from the requirement that partners be actively eng...