CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 01/22/96

Publication Offers Conservation-Use Tables

Farmers, foresters, county government officials and tree harvesters involved with the Conservation-Use Land Valuation Program should keep an eye on the calendar.

The 1996 conservation-use (current-use) valuation tables for land have been completed by the Georgia Department of Revenue and mailed to county tax assessors to become effective Jan. 29.

The county tax assessor must have sign-ups before the property tax return filing deadline (March 1 or April 1, depending on the county).

Each year the DOR revises its tables of values for qualifying conservation-use property, following guidelines detailed by House Bill 283 (1992- style) and H.B. 66 (1993-style).

Details of the programs are available in a University of Georgia Extension Service publication entitled "Tax Incentives for the Georgia Landowner." The county Extension office has Bulletin 1089 for $1 per copy.

The publication discusses the '91 timber tax law, the ad valorem tax issues of the new conservation-use valuation program, the one-time county ad valorem tax on timber at harvest or sale for harvest, and the issues of fair market value and the agricultural preferential program.

Covenants are between qualified landowners and county governments. The purpose of the covenants is to have qualified agricultural and forest lands in Georgia valued for county ad valorem taxes based on current conservation use.

The fair market value is the approach normally used.

"The benefit of conservation-use valuation to the Georgia public is that land is preserved in farms and forests," says Coleman Dangerfield, an Extension Service agricultural economist.

"The result is increased open and green areas for all to enjoy," Dangerfield says. "In return for a covenant with the county, the landowner agrees to maintain the land in its agricultural or forest use for 10 years."

For qualified landowners, the program offers land value that reflects farm and forest uses, Dangerfield says. Current-use valuation may result in a lower county ad valorem property tax bill.

The county Extension office has two maps and tables available in the January "Forest Resource Notes" newsletter that give the conservation-use land values.

The county tax assessor also has maps, tables, program details and sign-up procedures.

One map shows the nine Conservation-Use Valuation Areas by county with a table containing values to be used for all 1993-style covenants. The second map shows the 28 CUVAs by county with a table containing values to be used for the 13,376 1992-style covenants.

Tables show the dollars-per-acre values for class 1-9 land, with 1 being most productive and 9 being least productive land.

In 1990, the Georgia General Assembly passed House Resolution 836. The resolution proposed a constitutional amendment to allow, among other things, the revision of taxation of agricultural and forest land.

Following approval of Constitutional Amendment No. 3, H.B. 283 became law in 1991. H.B. 283 provided the means for qualifying and valuing agricultural, forested and environmentally sensitive land (conservation-use property) under a current-use concept for the 1992 tax year.

In 1993, H.B. 66, a technical corrections and clarification bill, was signed by the Governor. H.B. 66 allowed for improved means to qualify and value conservation-use property for the 1993 tax year and beyond.

Experts/Sources:
Coleman W. Dangerfield Jr.
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time to spend more of the holiday with guests, taking time ahead of the day to set expectations can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. CAES News
Manage holiday stress with kindness, boundaries 11/21/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Much like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time allows you to spend more of the holiday with guests, setting expectations ahead of the celebration can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science.
Conner Hall CAES News
CAES welcomes 2024 cohort of Rural Scholars 11/20/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences welcomed its fourth cohort of students chosen for the CAES Rural Scholars Program this fall just weeks after celebrating the program's first graduation. Georgia Orman, one of four inaugural Rural Scholars in CAES, graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education. The new scholars for 2024, all from Georgia, are Ela Ash of Ocilla, Lauren E. Coley of Cochran, Amelia Housley of Canon, and London O’Steen of Ambrose.
Women play a vital role in rural American farming, but much of that work is "invisible," like raising children or household chores, according to a new UGA study. (Getty Images) CAES News
The women and stress behind rural farming in America 11/19/24 Leigh Hataway
Recent research from the University of Georgia suggests the unique stresses from farm life may be taking a toll on one of the pillars of the families that make your dinners possible: the women who keep farming families running. “If we don’t control our food sources, we don’t control our health and safety,” said Anna Scheyett, lead author of the study and a professor in UGA’s School of Social Work. “It’s a matter of national security that farmers survive in the United States. And one of the big factors in helping farms survive is women.”
Mergoum at Creature Comforts CAES News
That's the spirit! 11/18/24 Maria M. Lameiras, Claire Sanders Kinnard
Wheat breeders spend years meticulously crossing varieties to coax the best traits out of each species, carefully propagating plant varieties that are healthier, heartier and better suited for the environments where they are grown. Professional brewmasters are equally painstaking when choosing the components that will give their beers a specific flavor profile.
Contest-winning concept becomes viable business for alumnus who developed solar-powered, self-propelled chicken coop as a student. CAES News
Poultry in motion 11/14/24 Sean Montgomery
Chris Ayers emerged from his orange and black rough-terrain vehicle with an ear-to-ear grin. “This is Chiktopia,” he said, sweeping his arm wide to indicate the back half of a 3,600-square-foot warehouse on his family’s farm in Ball Ground, Georgia. “This is where I manufacture and assemble the chicken coops. Everything is done entirely from over here.”
UGA Grand Farm Site Plan web CAES News
UGA Grand Farm wins stage two of 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund competition 11/13/24 Jordan Powers
Startups in the agricultural technology sector face significant barriers on the path to establishment, including access to training and capital. These barriers are heightened for underrepresented entrepreneurs seeking to start new companies. The University of Georgia Grand Farm, part of a historic partnership between the University of Georgia and Fargo, North Dakota-based Grand Farm, aims to change that.