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IS71J,l PUVJWJ J UVrIWWV ZOOZ Gupft Z anssl 'n awnloA u0g3QUU0:) 090 10 VIII `uoidurepioN 3XVIS aiw4s Quo asnil pueluu -e3 u1;o1Jaur`j c v1-If—AA ter ►'" r When 1s a Horse Farm Really a Farm? continued from page S For more information: facilities to need prime agricultural soils," says Rich Hubbard, assistant commissioner of the 2001 New York York Department of Food and Agriculture. Equine Survey "Our biggest problem is keeping land available and affordable to production farmers," says uuvMw. eass,us�da.ynv /nyl Hubbard. "We've resisted opening up the definition of agriculture to include recreational riding and boarding because it introduces another buyer into the market for [protected] land, one Equ1ne2000/hnrse.htm who generally has more resources to bring to bear than someone who is engaged in production 1999 National agriculture." Agricultural Statistics Currently, Massachusetts considers equine breeding operations agricultural and allows ancillary Service Equine Suruep boarding, riding and training facilities provided they aren't the primary activity. Like Hubbard, w vu�ru .usd�.tr�an��iih.carneii.edu/ Massachusetts' assessors also are opposed to opening the definition of agriculture to recreational horse facilities because of the impact on agricultural property tax assessments. repartS/nassr /IiuostQek/equine Forty -nine states offer differential property tax assessments to agricultural land; all SO offer property Sonoran Institute tax relief. Under New York's agricultural districts law, commercial horse boarding operations are eli- w�vu.sannran.or� gible, subject to county approval, for agricultural assessments providing they have at least 10 acres, 10 horses and gross revenue of at least $10,000. In many states, agriculture is also often exempted National Equestrian Land from some local and state land use regulations that affect commercial enterprises. Delaware farms, Conservation Resource for example, are exempted from county regulations such as zoning ordinances and are eligible for tM+�ivu.eirrorq the state's PDR program. Under Delaware's commodity- oriented definition of farms — similar to the USDA's —horse breeding operations qualify as farms, while recreational facilities do not. Mike McGrath, chief planner for the Delaware Department of Agriculture, is concerned that open- ing the definition of agriculture to include recreational riding and boarding facilities could jeopard- ize those programs. "We're going to jealously guard the requirements [for designation as a farm] because we know if the benefits start going to people who aren't readily identified as farmers, then we're going to lose the whole ball of wax," he says. "These are not simple issues. But here's the question you've got to ask yourself: Are you really trying to structure programs that try to protect and preserve commercial agriculture, or are you trying to structure programs that deal with open space ?" McGrath says. "Everybody's got a foot in each camp. But Delaware, I think, has come down on the side of commercial, industrial agricul- ture. Along the way, we've saved a bunch of critters and trees, and protected natural resources and open space." D'i B.H. IS71J,l PUVJWJ J UVrIWWV ZOOZ Gupft Z anssl 'n awnloA u0g3QUU0:) 090 10 VIII `uoidurepioN 3XVIS aiw4s Quo asnil pueluu -e3 u1;o1Jaur`j c v1-If—AA ter ►'" r