The Carroll County Auditor is responsible for administering the Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV) program and the Agricultural District Program. Both programs provide tax relief to the owners of agricultural land and use similar eligibility criteria, but are two separate programs. The same agricultural land can qualify to be in either or both programs. However, applying for one program does not automatically enroll you in the other program. Separate applications must be filed for each program.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) certifies land qualified for the Ohio Forest Tax Law to the County Auditor for tax purposes. This program is administered by ODNR, not the County Auditor.

The CAUV Program provides a tax relief on agricultural land by ensuring that qualified agricultural producing properties are appraised on production capacity of the soil and not the land's market value. Thus, value is dependent upon soil type, region, slope, and erosion factors of the land. The most basic qualification for CAUV is the requirement of land to be used for commercial agriculture. Definition of “Commercial Agriculture,” the crops or livestock produced on a parcel provide a monetary return, or revenue, to the producer.

Each year, the Ohio Department of Taxation sets current agricultural use values for each of Ohio's soil types. The documents below were developed by the department to show current CAUVs and explain how these values were established.

For land to qualify for Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV) it must:

Be owned as of January 1st of the year of application. DTE Form 102 is required with all transfers of qualifying land. Carroll County uses a DTE Form 102 that is specific to Carroll County. Please be sure to use the correct form. DTE Form 102

AND

Be devoted exclusively to agricultural use for the three calendar years prior to the year-end of filing the application. (If you owned the land as of January 1st of the current year, the previous owner must have been farming. The land qualifies for the program, not the owner.) Property must total not less than ten qualifying acres.

OR

If less than Ten Acres it must produce an Average Yearly Gross Income of at least twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500), or evidence of anticipated income of that amount.

OR

It must be devoted to, and qualified for, payments (or other compensation) under a land retirement or conservation program under an agreement with a federal government agency.

CAUV Forestry Requirements

1. Noncommercial woodland is eligible for CAUV provided that it is contiguous to at least 10 acres of CAUV Cropland/Pasture area.

2. Commercial Timber as the only agricultural use must be at least 10 acres to qualify and requires a Woodland Management Plan. Proof of income is not required. Find a forester at www.osafdirectory.com.

How to Apply

Initial (New) Application Deadline: Applications may be submitted after the first Monday of January and by the first Monday in March. Fee: Initial Application Fee is $25 (per district).

Initial Application for the Valuation of Land at Its Current Agricultural Use

Renewal Applications: Applications must be renewed each year. A renewal application will be sent automatically to the address where the tax bill is sent and must be returned by the first Monday in March. There is no renewal fee as long as the deeded name remains unchanged.

Current Agricultural Use Valuation Renewal Application (DTE Form 109A)

Land converted from agricultural use is subject to a recoupment charge equal to the amount of the tax savings on the converted land during the three years immediately preceding the year in which the conversion occurs.

An agricultural district provides protection for farmers from nuisance lawsuits, defer expensive development assessments until the land is changed to non-agriculture use, and offers state scrutiny of local eminent domain acquisitions in certain cases.

Generally, any agricultural land designated as an agricultural district must meet two criteria.

1. The land must be devoted exclusively to agricultural production or devoted to and qualified for payments or other compensation under a federal land retirement or conservation program.
   
2. The land must either be ten acres or more in size or produce an average yearly gross income of at least twenty-five hundred dollars during a three-year period.  This status needs to be renewed every five years. Updated application forms are also available at Ohio county auditor offices.

The benefits of enrolling in an agricultural district include:

• Nuisance suits protection - Agricultural district status can protect farmers from nuisance lawsuits as long as the farmer is following acceptable best management practices. This can serve as an affirmative defense in frivolous lawsuits for odors and noises associated with agriculture.
• Deferring assessments - Another aspect of development that can impact a farm is the extension of water, sewer and electric lines. These lines are usually paid for by the landowner and often assessed on frontage. A farmer with extensive frontage could face costs large enough to require selling a portion of the farm. To prevent that, the law defers the assessments on agricultural district farmland, excluding the homestead, until the land is changed to another use or withdrawn from the agricultural district.
• Scrutiny of eminent domain acquisitions - If eminent domain is used on 10 acres or 10 percent of the total agricultural district land, whichever is greater, the law calls for a review by the state director of agriculture to determine if an alternative to the proposed project is possible. The result might be a re-evaluation of the project with less or no agricultural land being taken.

All easements that enter either the Local Agricultural Easement Purchase Program (LAEPP) or the Agricultural Easement Donation Program (AEDP) must also be enrolled in the Agricultural District program.

Who May File? Any owner of land used for agricultural production may file an application to have the land placed in an agricultural district by filing FORM 11 Application For Placement of Farmland in an Agricultural District. The completed application must be filed with the auditor of the county where the land is located. The applicant will be notified of action taken by the county auditor within 30 days of the filing of the application if the land is not within a municipal corporation or an annexation petition has not been filed. If the land for which an application has been made lies within a municipal corporation limit or if an annexation petition that includes the land has been filed with the Board of County Commissioners under Section 709.02 of the Ohio Revised Code, a copy of the application must also be filed with the Clerk of the legislative body of the municipal corporation. The legislative body is required to conduct a public hearing on the application within 30 days after the application has been filed with the Clerk. Within 30 days of the hearing, the legislative body may approve the application, modify and approve the application as modified, or reject the application.

When to File and Renewal? The original application may be filed at any time for placement of land in an agricultural district for a five-year period. If at the end of five years, the owner decides to keep some or all of his or her land in a district, he or she shall submit a renewal application and must meet the same land requirements and use the same application process as the original application. The renewal application may be filed at any time after the first Monday in January and prior to the first Monday in March of the year during which an agricultural district terminates, for a period of time ending on the first Monday in April of the fifth year following the renewal application.

What is "Land Used for Agricultural Production?" In accordance with Section 929.01(A) of the Revised Code, land is devoted to "agricultural production" when it is used for commercial aquaculture, apiculture, animal husbandry, poultry husbandry; the production for a commercial purpose of field crops, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, timber, nursery stock, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees; flowers or sod; the growth of timber for a noncommercial purpose if the land on which the timber is grown is contiguous to or part of a parcel of land under common ownership that is otherwise devoted exclusively to agricultural use; or any combination of such husbandry, production, or growth; and includes the processing, drying, storage and marketing of agricultural products when those activities are conducted in conjunction with such husbandry, production, or growth.

"Agricultural production" includes conservation practices provided that the tracts, lots, or parcels of the land or portions thereof that are used for conservation practices comprise not more than twenty-five percent of tracts, lots, or parcels of land that are otherwise devoted exclusively to agricultural use and for which an application is filed.

"Conservation practices" are practices used to abate soil erosion as required in the management of the farming operation, and include, but are not limited to, the installation, construction, development, planting, or use of grass waterways, terraces, diversions, filter strips, field borders, windbreaks, riparian buffers, wetlands, ponds, and cover crops for that purpose.

What Does Tracts, Lots, or Parcels of Land" Mean? Tracts, lots, or parcels mean distinct portions of pieces of land (not necessarily contiguous) where the title is held by one owner, as listed on the tax list and duplicate of the county, is in agricultural production and conforms with the requirements of either 1, 2, or 3 below.

Is There a Penalty for Early Withdrawal? Land removed from this program before the 5-year enrollment period is subject to penalty, per Section 929.02(D) of the Ohio Revised Code. See County Auditor's Office for details on how the amount of the withdrawal penalty is determined.

Ohio Forest Tax Law is administered by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, according to the Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio Administrative Code. In exchange for the tax reduction conferred by Ohio's forest property tax laws, landowners agree to manage their forest land for the commercial production of timber and other forest products and to abide by pertinent rules and regulations. Owners with a management plan for a minimum of three (3) years may apply for CAUV; however, you may only be qualified for one plan or the other. Please review the comparison of CAUV to OFTL.

Ohio Division of Forestry CAUV to OFTL Comparison

If you would like to find out more about OFTL, contact the Division of Forestry in Columbus or your local service forester.

State Service Forester Directory

Consulting Forester Directory

Ohio Division of Forestry
2045 Morse Road, Building H-1, Columbus, OH 43229
Telephone: (614) 265-6694
Toll Free: (877) 247-8733
Fax: (614) 447-9231

Forestry Program Application