Oregon Administrative Rules
Chapter 150 - DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
Division 308 - ASSESSMENT OF PROPERTY FOR TAXATION
Section 150-308-1010 - Farm Use Definitions, Inactivity Due to Illness, and Description of Lands in Non-Exclusive Farm Use
Universal Citation: OR Admin Rules 150-308-1010
Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) This rule applies to land in non-exclusive farm use zones that may qualify for special assessment under ORS 308A.068.
(2) Definitions:
(a) "Farm unit" means a farming enterprise
which includes all parcels being farmed by a single operator, whether the
operator owns or leases the farmland.
(b) "Farm use" is defined in ORS
308A.056 and applies to land
both inside and outside exclusive farm use zones.
(c) "Illness" means sickness, disease,
injury, or disorder of body or mind which prevents the farmer or immediate
family member from performing necessary farm operations.
(d) For purposes of subsection (2)(c):
"Immediate family member" means the farmer's spouse, children, or any person
for whom the farmer has a legal responsibility including, but not limited to,
guardianship of a dependent parent or child.
(e) "Land" means land in its natural state,
including any site developments (see ORS
307.010).
(A) "Land" includes all mines, minerals,
quarries, dikes, banks, drainage tile, water rights, and the like. Since ORS
308A.056 relates only to land
used for farming, any mineral reserves under the land continue to be assessed
at real market value as defined by ORS
308.205. Minerals include oil
and gas. Severed mineral interests, even though underlying zoned farmland, are
assessed to the owner in accordance with ORS
308.115.
(B) For the purpose of assessment of land in
farm use, "land" does not include buildings, structures, improvements (unless
their contribution is an integral part of the income attributable to the land),
machinery, equipment, land improvements for homesites, fixtures erected upon or
affixed to the land itself, or land used for a non-farm residence or other
non-farm purpose.
(f)
"Wasteland" includes but is not limited to swamps, rock outcroppings, gullies,
unusable overflow lands, and drainage ways.
(A) Wasteland does not include tillable lands
left idle or uncultivated and non-tillable grazing lands left unused when the
accepted farming practice is to utilize the land.
(B) Wasteland does include land described in
paragraph (2)(f)(A), if the owner can show that it is uneconomical to utilize
the land as part of the farm unit. Utilizing the land is uneconomical if the
cost to raise crops or animals exceeds the value of the crops or animals.
Examples in which it would not be economical to utilize the land include:
(i) An unfenced area of grazing land where
the annualized cost of fencing would exceed the income derived from the
land.
(ii) An area of a farm that
was only profitable through irrigation that is now unused because the cost of
electricity to operate the irrigation pumps increases expenses beyond the
income that can be derived from that area of land.
(C) Wasteland caused by the taxpayer, owner,
or person in control of the property is not entitled to special farm use
assessment. Examples of taxpayer-created wasteland include "mined out" land
where gravel, soil, or other minerals have been extracted, and mine tailing
refuse areas.
(3)
(a) The
law seeks to give the benefits of ORS
308A.068 to that farmland which
is operated primarily for the purpose of obtaining a profit in money.
(b) The assessor must consider all
requirements of ORS 308A.056 and be convinced that
the land is used in a manner that is reasonably designed and intended to obtain
a profit in money by accepted farming practices. If the primary purpose of the
current use of the land is not to obtain a profit in money, the land is not
farm use land. This primary purpose of the land must be ascertained from overt
acts. All pertinent facts will be considered to determine if property qualifies
as farm use land. Pertinent information may include:
(A) Present and past use of the
land.
(B) If the farming operation
is conducted by another for the owner, the provisions of the oral or written
agreement including the term, area let, consideration, and provisions for
termination.
(C) Participation in
governmental or private agricultural programs or activities.
(D) Productivity of the land.
(E) Number of livestock or poultry (by
type).
(F) Amount of last harvest
of each crop.
(G) Money from
products of farm use activity, the products of which come from the specially
assessed land.
(H) Uses of the land
for other than farming operation.
(I) Ratio of farm or agricultural use as
against other uses of the land.
(4)
(a)
Farm inactivity for one year or less due to illness of the farmer or an
immediate family member does not disqualify the property from farm use special
assessment or continuation of abatement.
(A)
Proof of illness must be provided to the assessor by a written statement from a
licensed medical practitioner. The statement must identify the nature of the
illness, the onset of the illness, and the extent of its debilitating
nature.
(B) The timing of the
illness must prevent farming practices.
(b) For meeting the farm income requirements
of ORS 308A.071 and
308A.119, the year of farm
inactivity due to illness is not counted as one of the five years for income or
abatement determination.
(5) Notwithstanding section (3), any part of a farm unit that is employed in or supports a non-farm use does not qualify for special assessment. Examples of non-farm use include, but are not limited to:
(a) Land under retail stores, except for farm
stands offering agricultural products for sale as described in ORS
215.213 and
215.283.
(b) Land under processing facilities, except
processing facilities described by ORS
215.213 and
215.283.
(c) Land under areas used to encourage the
use or enjoyment of agricultural products such as tasting rooms, banquet halls,
public gathering areas, or public entertainment.
(d) Land under structures such as
communication towers, and improvements that support the structures.
(e) Land under structures used for power
generation or transmission such as wind turbines, substations, crane pads, and
improvements that support the structures.
(f) Private roads not used primarily to
support the farming operation such as those used to access structures listed in
subsections (d) and (e).
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 305.100
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 308.380 & 308A.056
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