Ending the tax on a lifetime of success

Summer after hot, dusty summer, many of our parents and grandparents worked in the fields, raising their crops. Winter after icy winter, they braved frigid corrals, helping to grow their herds. They often worked the same ground for decades—first as children, learning the trade. Over time, they may have added new land and new equipment here and there—whenever they found an opportunity to expand their life’s work. It takes a lifetime to grow a farm or ranch.

These stories are bountiful in Nebraska. But not all of them have a happy ending. Farmers and ranchers are often vulnerable to one of the f...