Sakata and his two sisters recognize the threat to the family business. The siblings together have ponied-up thousands of dollars in estate planning expenses and life insurance premiums for their parents. And they fear that the coverage they have may not even cover the value of the farm at the time of their parents' deaths.

Because Sakata Farms is smack in the middle of the fast-growing Colorado Front Range, with new development going on all around it, Sakata says land values in the area are going through the roof. Sakata faces the reality that he and his sisters may have to sell off half of the family farm to pay Uncle Sam unless Congress fixes the problem soon.

"It's a real morbid issue, and yet it has become more of an important issue because of the growth going on in the Denver metropolitan area," Sakata said. "Land values have really skyrocketed. And besides all of the other impacts associated with growth and the impacts and difficulties that it puts on farming in this area, the estate tax will be the toughest one to overcome when my parents do pass away."

The Sakatas have strong ties to their community. They employ about 75 full-time workers, with the staff ballooning to around 400 workers at the height of the vegetable-growing season. Sakata refers to his employees as part of his family—members of the family who would likely lose their jobs if he were forced to sell off part of the farm to pay the death tax.

"I will probably survive. But the most difficult part is that we have some key employees who are third generation," he said. "Some of our key employees have been here 40 years or so. And what scares me the most is it's going to hurt them. We would have to lay some of them off."

Until seven years ago, Robert was working in the booming field of genetic research. But he realized he would have a greater impact on the community by returning to the family farm. Now instead of peering into petri dishes and microscopes, Sakata nurtures vegetables and tracks the nutrient levels of his fertile soil. And that's something he wants to do for a long time.