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Agricultural Classification

The property appraiser is required, on an annual basis, to classify for assessment purposes all lands within the county as either agricultural or nonagricultural in accordance with Florida Statute 193.461.

No lands shall be classified as agricultural lands unless a return  is filed on or before March 1 of each year. The property appraiser, before so classifying such lands, may require the taxpayer or the taxpayer's representative to furnish the property appraiser such information as may reasonably be required to establish that such lands were actually used for a bona fide agricultural purpose.

Failure to make timely application by March 1 shall constitute a waiver for 1 year of the privilege herein granted for agricultural assessment.

• The owner of land that was classified agricultural in the previous year and whose ownership or use has not changed need not reapply for an Agricultural Classification.
• The lessee of property may make original application if the lease, or an affidavit executed by the owner, provides that the lessee is empowered to make application for the agricultural classification on behalf of the owner and a copy of the lease or affidavit accompanies the application.

"Bona fide agricultural purposes" means good faith commercial agricultural use of the land. In determining whether the use of the land for agricultural purposes is bona fide, the following factors may be taken into consideration:

• The length of time the land has been so utilized
• Whether the use has been continuous
• The purchase price paid
• Size, as it relates to specific agricultural use
• Whether an indicated effort has been made to care sufficiently and adequately for the land in accordance with accepted commercial agricultural practices, including, without limitation, fertilizing, liming, tilling, mowing, reforesting, and other accepted agricultural practices
• Whether such land is under lease and, if so, the effective length, terms, and conditions of the lease; and
  Such other factors as may from time to time become applicable.
  • The maintenance of a dwelling on part of the lands used for agricultural purposes shall not in itself preclude an agricultural classification.
  • When property receiving an agricultural classification contains a residence under the same ownership, the portion of the property consisting of the residence and curtilage must be assessed separately, pursuant to Florida Statute193.011, to qualify for the assessment limitation set forth in Florida Statute 193.155.
    

The property appraiser will reclassify the following lands as nonagricultural:

• Land diverted from an agricultural to a nonagricultural use.
• Land no longer being utilized for agricultural purposes.

Any landowner whose land is denied agricultural classification by the property appraiser may appeal to the value adjustment board. The property appraiser shall notify the landowner in writing of the denial of agricultural classification on or before July 1 of the year for which the application was filed. The notification shall advise the landowner of his or her right to appeal to the Value Adjustment Board (VAB) and of the filing deadline. The board may also review all lands classified by the property appraiser upon its own motion

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