Patterson Helps to Lead Farmers' Property Tax Task Force

State Rep. John Patterson (D-Jefferson) recently helped bring together Northeast Ohio farmers, The Ohio State University, county auditors, soil and water conservancy groups and County Farm Bureaus to address dramatic property tax increases on farmers from the state’s voluntary farm tax savings program, the Current Agriculture Use and Valuation (CAUV). The Ashtabula County lawmaker says he heard from concerned constituents that some were facing tax increases of over 300 percent on their farmland this year.

The first meeting at the OSU Agriculture Extension office in Jefferson, Ohio brought together over twenty stakeholders, representing nearly every form of agriculture in the region, including organic growers, dairy farmers, grain farmers, fisheries, and even woodlot entrepreneurs. The CAUV task force held its second meeting Monday in Ashtabula County.

The task force is currently taking a regional approach in addressing potential solutions to agricultural land value increases under the CAUV, but many hope the group can offer statewide recommendations that will help mitigate dramatic property tax increases on farmers in 41 counties across the state.

“It is my hope and intention that this task force will provide some very comprehensive thought to this program that has benefitted farmers since 1973,” said Rep. Patterson. “It is only through this collaborative discussion and research that we can present a plan that won’t result in a knee-jerk legislative reaction that could be very harmful for our current and future farmers of this county, region and state.”

Ohio’s CAUV was established 40 years ago in an effort to add predictability to farmers’ property tax bills while incorporating land valuation practices that were thought to be fairer, like a rolling average of crop prices, soil conditions and harvest volume.

Many farmers throughout the state use the CAUV, but in recent years, the program has proved to be somewhat volatile. Though farmers have felt the disastrous effects of the global recession in recent years, their property tax rates under CAUV will stick struggling farmers with big tax increases at the beginning of the year.

For a complete summary of the CAUV Task Force meetings, contact the OSU Extension Office at (440) 576-9008.