Central Va Farms

Land Use Tax Assessment in Virginia

Land use is exactly what it sounds like…the management and modification of natural environments/wildernesses into “built environments” which house manmade structures like cities and neighborhoods used to serve human needs. Land use laws make it possible for a locality to assess real estate based on “use value” rather than “fair market” value. Land use laws have several purposes: guaranteeing an available source of forest products, conserving natural resources in ways that will prevent erosion, protecting sufficient safe-water supplies, preserving natural beauty and scenic open spaces, promoting proper land-use planning, and reducing pressure to convert places into more intensive land use. In short, land use assessments help landowners stave off pressure to develop land.

Title 58.1-3230 of the Code of Virginia states that, “a county, city, or town may adopt an an ordinance that provides for use-value assessment under four categories: real estate devoted to agricultural use, horticultural use, forest use and open space use. Land used in agricultural and forestal production in an agricultural district, a forestal district, or an agricultural/forestal district is eligible for use value assessment in the absence of a local ordinance.” The State Land Use Advisory Council (SLEAC) was created in 1973 to estimate the use value of qualifying land for every locality participating in a use-value program. As of now, 64 counties and 13 cities in Virginia including Albemarle County participate in a use-value program. There are some people, like Martha Moore of the Virginia Farm Bureau who see land use assessment as an effective (if temporary) method to halt excessive land development. Moore says, “Without land use assessment, the tax burden would increase so rapidly that the land would not be able to be used for agriculture or forestry operations. There would be development at a rapid pace rather than at a planned pace.”

Once a city, county, or locality adopts local land use ordinances, any parcel that meets state criteria for the category in question (agriculture, forestry, etc.) must be granted use value taxation. The County doesn’t have the right to impose any additional eligibility requirements. Before use-value assessment is granted, the local assessing officer must decide whether or not land meets the uniform standards set forth by either the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the State Forester, or the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Are you someone who owns property in Virginia? Wondering if your property qualifies for land use valuation? You must submit an application to the county for taxation on the basis of use assessment at least sixty days prior to the tax year for which the reduced taxation is sought. You must also submit a reapplication whenever acreage or change in land use occurs. You may be asked for any of the following items:

1. The assigned USDA/ASCS farm number
2. Federal tax forms like: Farm Expenses and Income (1040 F), Farm Rental Income and Expenses (4835), or Cash Rent for Agricultural Land (1040 E)
3. A conservation Farm Management and/or Forest Management plan prepared by a professional, or a letter of intent stating that the land will be forested
4. Evidence that your farm’s gross sales averaged more than $1,000 annually over the past three years

Check out the classifications below to determine whether land use assessments apply to your land. Albemarle County adopted all four land use categories in 1975. From the Albemarle County page on land use, here are the qualifications that your land must meet if you plan to apply for land use valuation:

Agriculture/Horticulture Use: Land used for agricultural use must consist of a minimum of five acres and must meet prescribed standards for a bona fide production for sale of crops and/or livestock or be in an approved soil conservation program. Land used for horticulture use must consist of a minimum of five acres and must meet prescribed standards for bona fide production for sale of fruits, vegetables, ornamental plants and/or ornamental products. In either case, you must also be able to prove a five-year previous history of continuous farming. If land is left vacant, idle, or neglected for a year or more, farm history starts over for five years.

The land needs to be qualified on the basis of selling crops or livestock. It must make over $1,000 annually. The applicant must certify that the real estate is being used in a planned program of management, production and sale of field crops, livestock, poultry, dairy, fruits, vegetables, etc.

If qualifying under livestock classifications, the minimum stocking requirements are: 1 cow, 1 horse, 5 sheep, 5 swine, 100 chickens, and/or 66 turkeys for every five acres. Horses only qualify if they’re being used for breeding or boarding…recreational horses don’t count.

Forest Use: Land used for forestal use must be a minimum of twenty acres and must include standing timber and trees devoted to tree growth in such quantity and so spaced and maintained as to constitute a forest area. Must be exclusively devoted to forestal use, meaning no livestock access (otherwise, you must apply for the agricultural category). Required to have a forest management plan or a letter of intent stating that the land will be forested.

Open Space: Land in open space must be at least 20 acres or such greater minimum acreage, set by local ordinance, and be used to provide or preserve the land for park or recreational purposes, conservation of land or other natural resources, floodways, historic or scenic purposes or to assist in the shaping of the character, direction, or timing of community development, or for the public interest and consistent with the local land use plan. To qualify under open space use, real estate must be subject to a recorded perpetual conservation, historic, or open-space easement held by any public body.

If your Albemarle County land meets any of the aforementioned specifications for agricultural, horticultural, forestal, or open space land use, it would be highly beneficial to apply for land use valuation.  Be sure to contact your county’s governing offices to obtain the latest and most accurate tax information for you land and farming operation. For any more questions about matters of land in central Virginia, contact Gayle Harvey Real Estate today!

Mushrooms: A Potential Forest Farming Endeavor

There’s a chance that, if you own a farm in central Virginia, it came with a few (or more than a few) acres of forest land. If you’re a Charlottesville farmer with a woodlot, you should consider the advantages of shiitake mushroom cultivation. It can be a fulfilling (both intrinsically and, of course financially) thing to do with your land and time in the off-season. Shiitake mushrooms are in high demand this time of year. The USDA estimates that they sell for $12-20 per pound (retail). As far as mushrooms go, “shiitake” has a fairly marketable name recognition, but there are many different species of mushroom that could prove profitable: maitake, lion’s mane, and oyster just to name a few.

To begin you would buy mushroom spores marked either sawdust or dowel spawn, referring to the material through which the spores have been run. Shiitake inoculators will generally run you $1-1.50 per log; oyster and lion’s mane inoculators $2, and maitake $3. Spawn comes in “warm season,” “cold season,” and “wide range” variants, referring of course to the climate that best suits the spores. Most people use cold season spawn for the spring and fall and either warm season or wide range for the summer, but new growers should try experimenting as much as they feel inclined.

Growers should only inoculate logs that have been recently cut. It’s recommended that you inoculate at most a few days after cutting. This way you can be sure that your spores are the only fungus contributing to the breakdown of the log. The recommended dimensions are three to eight inches in diameter and between two and four feet long. The logs of oak trees are prime candidates for inoculation, as are many other hardwood trees common to the land in central Virginia. If you’re dealing with maitake, keep in mind that you can actually inoculate the stumps of old trees! Inoculating logs with sawdust spawn is a fairly simple process. After you drill holes in the log, you only need a plunger or similar “inoculation tool.” For dowel, insert dowel spawn plugs into the logs and hammer flush with (or right below) the surface of the log. You want to inoculate by drilling a row of holes into the log and offsetting the holes in the next row. To figure out how many holes to drill, simply subtract the number of inches of the log by 1. This is not a hard and fast rule, just a guide. Then keep the logs incubated until the mushroom has had a chance to fully colonize the log. After this, you want to lay the logs out in the shade (between 75-80% shade) and make sure to keep moisture levels high. To determine how much moisture your batch is getting, it’s useful to have a “moisture log”; that is, a log that is not inoculated but experiences the same conditions as your inoculated logs. Simply cut a piece off, weigh it, and put it in the oven. Then weigh it again.

You must take steps to sterilize the inoculation site. The most common way to do this is to use food-grade wax at about 400 degrees. It’s not always enough to sterilize the inoculation points; one must coat any raw wood sites in wax. That means branch stubs, the ends of the log…anywhere that the interior of the log is exposed. Grab a turkey baster (metal is recommended for the hot wax) and get to work!

If you’re reading this from Charlottesville or one of the surrounding counties, you probably already know that there is a built-in market for fresh, local food. Mushrooms are no exception. The prominence of the farm-to-table movement in Charlottesville means that there are a wealth of restaurants, grocery stores, and farmers’ markets that need local food, and fast. If you’re already a farmer and you’re looking to diversify your crops and keep busy in the off-season, mushroom farming may be for you. This is meant to serve as only an introduction to mushroom farming. There is much more info out there. Check out the USDA’s guide to farming mushrooms for more information.