AGRICULTURAL LAND CLASSIFICATION FOR PROPERTY VALUE
Each year the Assessor is required to review property use to determine the classification for ad valorem tax purposes. Agricultural lands are valued by productivity which is reflective of the market price of hay and the lease rate for grazing lands. If our lands were only desired for their agriculture use, productivity value and fair market value would be nearly the same. The Affidavit for Agricultural Classification is routinely sent each year to property owners who had requested to be assessed by productivity valuation in the past. It is also sent to owners of large acreage of whose land use we are unsure or who do not report machinery and equipment used in agriculture for personal property taxation.

For tax assessment purposes, "agricultural land" means contiguous or noncontiguous parcels of land presently used and employed for the primary purpose of providing gross revenue from agricultural or horticultural use or any combination thereof unless part of a platted subdivision. Agricultural land shall generally include land that is actively farmed, ranched, or is used to raise timber for timber products to obtain a fair rate of return. The use of the land must be consistent with the land's capability to produce. The owner of nonleased land must derive annual gross revenue of not less than $500 from the marketing of agricultural products from the agricultural operation that includes the subject land. For leased land, the leasee must derive $1,000 from the marketing of agricultural products. (Grazing horses does not in itself qualify for productivity valuation.)

Lands which are not to be classified as agricultural for tax purposes are the following:

• Lands which have been platted and received approval from the governing body in whose jurisdiction the property resides.
• Lands in active transition from agricultural use to residential, commercial or industrial use, which includes creation or division(s) of a tract, parcel, or other unit of land for the purposes of sale or development for such use.
• Resort or recreational lands, including dude ranch facilities, summer homes, or mountain cabins.
• Parcels of land forty acres or less unless the landowner provides proof that such land should otherwise be classified as agricultural.
• Land zoned for purposes which exclude agricultural uses.

If you believe that your property qualifies for agricultural status, complete and return the Affidavit for Agricultural Classification by March 1. The county commissioners in the past have denied requests for productivity valuation which were filed after the assessment protest period. If you application is denied, you will receive written notice of the denial and the reasons for it. If you disagree with the decision, you may protest it to the county board of equalization during the assessment schedule protest period as stated on the assessment schedule.