The Oswego County Soil and Water Conservation District reminds farmers who own qualifying land to apply for the Agricultural Land Value Assessment before Wednesday, March 1.

The Agricultural Land Value Assessment is a property tax reduction that is based on a farm’s financial information as well as its soil productivity. For a property to qualify as a farm for assessment purposes, land must be at least seven acres, be used as a single farming operation in the past two years, with the production of crops, livestock or livestock products contributing to average gross sales of $10,000 or more. Land that is less than seven acres may also qualify for an assessment if average gross sales total $50,000 or more. The seven-acre requirement can include multiple parcels.

Other land uses are included in qualifying land – such as commercial horse boarding, a commercial equine operation, set-aside land, easements, farm woodland, land used as silvopasture, land participating in a federal conservation program and support land.

Land used for a retail store where the public can purchase produce, crops and other goods produced by the farm is not included in qualifying land, even if it is part of the farming operation. Other types of operations may have specific rules of eligibility.

Rented land may also qualify if it is seven acres or more with average gross sales of at least $10,000 – or less than seven acres with average gross sales of $50,000 or more – and it has been farmed for the past two years. Land can be seven acres over multiple parcels but must have a single owner. Farm woodland and apiary land cannot be rented.

A landowner’s first step in applying for the Agricultural Land Value Assessment is to confirm eligibility with their local assessor. After confirming eligibility, the landowner can then contact the Oswego County Soil and Water Conservation District to request a soil group worksheet and soil map.

The office will ask the landowner how the land is used and will separate uses by soil group, using a Geographic Information System (GIS) to calculate acreage by soil group. The district technician will record information on the soil group worksheet, and the landowner will then transfer the information to the Agricultural Assessment Application (Form RP-305).

Once the landowner completes the agricultural assessment application, they will submit the application along with copies of the soil group worksheet and soil map to their local assessor.

Landowners will also need to provide evidence to demonstrate gross sales. Acceptable evidence includes Schedule F (Form 1040), bookkeeping records, bills of sale, receipts and other financial records. Requirements may vary by assessor, and it is up to the assessor to determine if eligibility requirements have been satisfied. The Oswego County Soil and Water Conservation District has no jurisdiction over eligibility.

It is important to note that the Oswego County Agricultural District is a separate program administered by the Oswego County Clerk of the Legislature and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County. The agricultural district has no affiliation with the Oswego County Soil and Water Conservation District, and land does not need to be in the agricultural district to qualify for the Agricultural Land Value Assessment.

Agricultural assessment applications are due to the local assessor by Wednesday, March 1, and the Oswego County Soil and Water Conservation District prefers to process all agricultural assessment paperwork in January and February. The cost to have a soil group worksheet and soil map completed is $30 from Dec. 1 to Feb. 28, and $40 from March 1 to Nov. 30. A worksheet must be completed for each parcel of land.