Agricultural District
An agricultural district provides protection for farmers from nuisance lawsuits, defer expensive development assessments until the land is
changed to a non-agriculture use, and offers state scrutiny of local eminent domain acquisitions in certain cases.
Landowners can qualify for an agricultural district with 10 or more acres of land that generates an average
of at least $2,500 annually for three years prior to application. This status needs to be renewed every five years.
Updated application forms are now available at Ohio county auditor offices and on the
forms list of this website under
"Administration Forms - Agricultural District Application."
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the land is changed to another use or withdrawn from the agricultural district.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.
A companion law is the current agricultural use valuation (CAUV) program. The CAUV provides relief on farmland
property taxes. Please contact your local county auditor's office for more information about the agricultural
district or CAUV programs.
The completed application must be filed with the auditor of the county where the land is located. If the land
for which an application has been made is 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.
For additional information refer to the Ohio Revised Code Chapter 929: Agricultural Districts or the following link:
http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/929
The Ohio State University Extension - Fact Sheet - Agricultural Districts in Ohio
http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/1268.html
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