When Is A Farm Not A Farm?

[dbigtex56]

I found this article (E-I-E. You owe. by Lisa Gray) in today's Chron quite interesting.

"...I set off to investigate Home Sweet Farm, Brad and Jenny Stufflebeam's 22 acres near Brenham. In February, the Washington County Appraisal District sent the couple a registered letter that said they'd been denied their 2007 agricultural tax exemption. Their property, the assessor wrote, "does not meet the degree of intensity requirements as set out in the 2007 WACD Guidelines for 1-d-1 Ag Use."

In other words: It's not really a farm. And all those acres would be taxed at Washington County's residential rate

[houstonmacbro]

Yeah, I think as land is becoming more valuable, they are looking at ways to deny tax exemptions.

[Dan the Man]

I found this article to be interesting. I was always under the impression that if land was used for some income-producing agricultural purpose, then it qualified as an Agricultural Exemption. Though some of the rules are a bit quirky, I have known of landowners who just let their grass grow and have it cut and baled twice a year. They sell the hay, bringing in some income and maintaining their Agricultural Exemption.

It seems like this guy qualifies with his organic vegetable business, but the article may have left some details out. Perhaps the land was out of production for a period of time, and it took a while to be reflected on the tax roles.