Thanks to the perseverance of our members and diligent work of Farm Bureau staff, Current Agricultural Use Value reform was made law by the passage of the state budget this summer.

“This outcome was the result of a concerted, three-year effort of lobbying the tax department, legislature and administration,” said Ohio Farm Bureau Executive Vice President Adam Sharp, noting that thousands of phone calls, visits, emails and letters from members from across the state telling their elected officials that CAUV needed to be addressed made a huge impact.

And not a moment too soon.

Statewide, Ohio farmers saw a 307 percent increase in property taxes charged between 2008 and 2014. Those higher taxes were being paid at a time when some farm crop prices had fallen as much as 50 percent and a formula that had worked well for decades started to falter.

“We had the perfect storm,” said Leah Curtis, Ohio Farm Bureau policy counsel. “We had interest rates being held down on a federal level, while we had higher farm prices in the calculation from a few good years and residential values were going down.”

It was at this time that the tax bills for farmland owners were coming due.
“The formula was becoming disconnected from the farm economy,”
Curtis said.

Ohio Farm Bureau took aggressive action starting three years ago to address the CAUV calculations that were drastically increasing some property tax bills for farmland owners. In June, that work got results when Farm Bureau members worked together to reform CAUV property taxes through legislative action.

“It wasn’t easy,” said Yvonne Lesicko, OFBF vice president of public policy. “This was a monumental effort of the entire organization. There were opponents who resisted our every move, but in the end the power of Farm Bureau to organize members and tell their stories directly to lawmakers won the day.”

The reform legislation signed into law by Gov. John Kasich ensured several changes affecting the formula:
• Financial market data used in the calculation is now tied to the farm economy and what happens on
farms, rather than the general financial markets;
• An increase in holding assumptions from five years to 25 years, as most farms are passed down in a family and are owned and operated for more than five years;
• Equity assumptions, previously based on the general federal
interest rate, will now be based on farm-specific equity data from the United States Department of Agriculture; and
• CAUV land used for year-round conservation practices or enrolled in a federal land retirement or conservation program for at least three years, will now be valued at the lowest of the values assigned on the basis of soil type.

cauv-figuring-tax-bill-infographic

The conservation provision was as key as any other provision in the formula, according to Jenna Beadle, OFBF director of state policy.

“Working to remove the tax penalty for placing land in conservation was important for our members,” Beadle said. “Farmers are trying to do the right thing and our tax policy should be supportive of their efforts.”

It is estimated that these new changes, coupled with previous Farm Bureau-led reforms, will result in average savings of 30 percent for 2017 reassessments. The reforms are phased-in over two reassessment cycles – six years – in order to assist local communities and schools as they transition to the more accurate CAUV formula.

“Going forward we’re going to have a CAUV calculation that’s more accurate and more directly related to the farm economy,” Curtis said.

Ohio Farm Bureau membership

New and beginning farmers
My first recommendation in your journey is to start out with a local farming friend or mentor along with joining an organization like Ohio Farm Bureau.
Greg McGlinch's avatar
Greg McGlinch

Darke County Farm Bureau

Growing Tomorrow Grant
We’re just so thankful for the Farm Bureau and the foundation for helping put this together. And of course, the Boyert family for the vision they had with this grant. It’s jumping us forward 10 years. It’s unbelievable.
Nathan and Jill Parriman's avatar
Nathan and Jill Parriman

Clermont County Farm Bureau

Bringing the farm back to life
I could not have done it without the resources I have found through Farm Bureau.
Gretchan Francis's avatar
Gretchan Francis

Trumbull County Farm Bureau

Youth pathways in Farm Bureau
It wasn’t until I joined the Wilmington College Collegiate Farm Bureau that I truly saw how my passion could translate into leadership, advocacy and a career.
Wyatt Morrow's avatar
Wyatt Morrow

Clinton County Farm Bureau

Giving farmers a voice
The issue of property taxation remains as one of the biggest challenges our members face today. Ensuring agricultural property is valued for its agricultural potential and not development is critical to the continued success of Ohio agriculture.
Matt Aultman's avatar
Matt Aultman

Darke County Farm Bureau

Select Partner Program
Through the Select Partner program, we became educated in farm insurance and weren't just selling policies. It became more and more clear why farmers need an advocate like Ohio Farm Bureau.
Chad Ruhl's avatar
Chad Ruhl

Farm manager, CSI Insurance

Advocacy
So many of the issues that OFBF and its members are advocating for are important to all Ohioans. I look at OFBF as an agricultural watchdog advocating for farmers and rural communities across Ohio.
Mary Smallsreed's avatar
Mary Smallsreed

Trumbull County Farm Bureau

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