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Conservation practices that farmers have been adopting for the past several decades were under scrutiny for Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV) eligibility. But an amendment to H.B. 95, the 2004-2005 budget bill, cleared up that confusion and spells out how conservation lands are legitimate agricultural lands.

The budget bill was signed by Gov. Taft June 26 and was effective immediately.

Previous interpretations of CAUV law had some county auditors disqualifying conservation lands from CAUV eligibility because they were not currently being devoted to an agricultural use.

Ohio Farm Bureau Federation believed conservation practices should qualify for CAUV. OFBF Government Affairs staff worked to amend the CAUV law to include conservation practices as "land devoted to an agricultural use."

OFBF’s Director of Local Affairs Larry Gearhardt testified on behalf of the amendments.