Pennsylvania Code › Title 7 - AGRICULTURE › Part V-C - Farmland and Forest Land › Chapter 137b - PREFERENTIAL ASSESSMENT OF FARMLAND AND FOREST LAND UNDER THE CLEAN AND GREEN ACT › ELIGIBLE LAND › Section 137b.12 - Agricultural use

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
Land that is in agricultural use is eligible for
					 preferential assessment under the act if it has been producing an agricultural
					 commodity or has been devoted to a soil conservation program under an agreement
					 with the Federal government for at least 3 years preceding the application for
					 preferential assessment, and is one of the following:
(1) Comprised of 10 or more contiguous acres
				  (including any farmstead land and woodlot).
(2) Has an anticipated yearly gross income of
				  at least $2,000 from the production of an agricultural commodity.
(3) Devoted to the development and operation
				  of an alternative energy system, if a majority of the energy generated annually
				  is utilized on the tract.
Example 1
: Landowner owns 50 acres of
					 pasture upon which horses are kept. The horses are pastured, bred and sold. The
					 land is in agricultural use.
Example 2
: Same facts as Example 1, except
					 20 acres are pasture land and 30 acres are wooded. Twenty acres of land are in
					 agricultural use and 30 acres are in forest reserve.
Example 3
: Landowner owns 7 acres of
					 pasture land upon which there is a small horse breeding operation from which
					 there is at least $2,000 of anticipated yearly gross income. The land is in
					 agricultural use.
Example 4
: Same facts as Example 3, except
					 that horses are neither bred nor sold and there is at least $2,000 of
					 anticipated yearly gross income from a horse boarding operation. The land is in
					 agricultural use, since it is being used for the purpose of producing an
					 agricultural commodity.
Example 5
: Landowner owns 10 acres of land
					 that is a combination of wooded and open space land from which tomatoes and
					 sweet corn are produced for sale. The land is in agricultural use.
Example 6
: Landowner owns 10 acres of land
					 that is a combination of wooded and open space land from which beef cattle are
					 produced and sold. The land is in agricultural use.
Example 7
: Landowner owns a parcel of land
					 that is used for the production of agricultural commodities. Landowner erects
					 solar panels (or some other alternative energy system) on the land and a
					 majority of the electricity generated by the alternative energy system is used
					 on the land. The land is in agricultural use.
Example 8
: Landowner owns two separate
					 parcels of land, Parcel A and Parcel B. These parcels are used for the
					 production of agricultural commodities. They are enrolled under a single
					 application for preferential assessment. Landowner erects solar panels (or some
					 other alternative energy system) on Parcel A. The majority of the electricity
					 generated by the alternative energy system on Parcel A is used by a large dairy
					 operation on Parcel B. Both Parcel A and Parcel B are in agricultural
					 use.
The provisions of this §
												137b.12 amended under section 11 of
						the Pennsylvania Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Act of 1974 (72 P. S. §
													5490.11).
This section cited in 7 Pa. Code §
												137b.73d (relating to wind power
						generation systems).