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Colorado
farmland after being released from an internment camp for
Japanese-Americans during World War II. The elder Sakata and
his wife, Joanna, who handles the finances of Sakata Farms, were
recently honored for their commitment to agriculture by being
inducted into the Colorado Agriculture Hall of Fame.
"I want
to carry that tradition on," the younger Sakata said. "But this
estate tax issue will not let me, the way it is presently."
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.
"Farming is in my blood," he said. "I really enjoy it. I feel
good about what I am doing. And it gives me the opportunity to be a
part of the community and do something positive." | 
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