10-6-31.1.   Agricultural land classified and taxed without regard to zoning. Land devoted to agricultural use shall be classified and taxed as agricultural land without regard to the zoning classification which it may be given; provided, however, that all or any portion of such land which is sold or otherwise converted to a use other than agricultural shall be classified and taxed accordingly.

Source: SL 1974, ch 90.

10-6-31.2.   Leased school lands classified separately. Leased school and endowment lands as provided in chapter 5-11 are hereby separately classified for the purpose of taxation.

Source: SL 1977, ch 47, § 4; SL 1994, ch 48, § 6.

10-6-31.3.   Criteria for classification of land as agricultural. For tax purposes, land is agricultural land if it meets two of the following three criteria:

             (1)      At least thirty-three and one-third percent of the total family gross income of the owner is derived from the pursuit of agriculture as defined in subdivision (2) of this section or it is a state-owned public shooting area or a state-owned game production area as identified in § 41-4-8 and it is owned and managed by the Department of Game, Fish and Parks;

             (2)      Its principal use is devoted to the raising and harvesting of crops or timber or fruit trees, the rearing, feeding, and management of farm livestock, poultry, fish, or nursery stock, the production of bees and apiary products, or horticulture, all for intended profit pursuant to subdivision (1) of this section. Agricultural real estate also includes woodland, wasteland, and pasture land, but only if the land is held and operated in conjunction with agricultural real estate as defined and it is under the same ownership;

             (3)      It consists of not less than twenty acres of unplatted land or is a part of a contiguous ownership of not less than eighty acres of unplatted land. The same acreage specifications apply to platted land, excluding land platted as a subdivision, which is in an unincorporated area. However, the board of county commissioners may increase the minimum acre requirement up to one hundred sixty acres.

Source: SL 1979, ch 65; SL 1991, ch 81; SL 1992, ch 77; SL 1992, ch 78; SL 1993, ch 83; SL 1998, ch 51, § 7; SL 2008, ch 44, § 18, eff. July 1, 2009.

10-6-31.4.   Property tax freeze authorized for agricultural property of beginning farmer. Agricultural property classified pursuant to § 10-6-31 shall be valued for taxation purposes in the usual manner. However, the board of county commissioners of the county where such property is located may, in its discretion, freeze the property taxes levied for a period of five years immediately following the purchase of agricultural property by a beginning farmer.

Source: SL 1994, ch 81, § 1.

10-6-31.5.   Criteria for qualifying for tax freeze on agricultural property of beginning farmer. The tax freeze in § 10-6-31.4 may be applied to agricultural property classified pursuant to § 10-6-31 if the following criteria are met:

             (1)      The owner of the property is a beginning farmer who has never before owned agricultural land;

             (2)      The property does not exceed one hundred sixty acres or one-half of the median-sized farm in the county as determined by the board of commissioners, whichever is greater;

             (3)      The beginning farmer works on and operates the farm;

             (4)      At least half of the beginning farmer's gross income is derived from agriculture;

             (5)      The property has not been subject to a beginning farmer's tax freeze for at least twenty years prior to the purchase date.

Source: SL 1994, ch 81, § 2.