Farmland Application
In the Farmland program, the property owner is required to have at least five contiguous acres in their parcel of land. The land must be used for farming, agriculture or horticulture and can include woodland and wasteland. Additionally, the parcel must contribute at least $2,000 gross income from farming activities each year.
The Department of Agriculture prepares a valuation guideline for municipalities, which results from studies based on suggested values using a correlation from income stream and market data attributable to agricultural enterprise.
If the property no longer qualifies as farmland, then a penalty will be assessed. The penalty is equal to the taxes that would have been paid in the last five years if the property had not been in farmland, less the taxes that were paid, plus any interest on that balance.
See Bulletin 20 (PDF) (Farmland Tax Law), 36 M.R.S. §§ 1101 - 1121 (Farm and Open Space Tax Law), and 7 M.R.S. chapter 2-B (Registration of Farmland).
In addition to the Farmland program, a municipality may enact a Voluntary Municipal Farm Support Program to help farmers with their property tax burdens.
See 7 M.R.S. chapter 2-C (Voluntary Municipal Farm Support Program), and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Rule 37 (PDF) (Rules Governing the Voluntary Municipal Farm Support Program).