77-1359 Agricultural and horticultural land; legislative findings; terms, defined.
77-1359. Agricultural and horticultural land; legislative findings; terms, defined.The Legislature finds and declares that agricultural land and horticultural land shall be a separate and distinct class of real property for purposes of assessment. The assessed value of agricultural land and horticultural land shall not be uniform and proportionate with all other real property, but the assessed value shall be uniform and proportionate within the class of agricultural land and horticultural land.For purposes of sections 77-1359 to 77-1363:(1) Agricultural land and horticultural land means a parcel of land, excluding any building or enclosed structure and the land associated with such building or enclosed structure located on the parcel, which is primarily used for agricultural or horticultural purposes, including wasteland lying in or adjacent to and in common ownership or management with other agricultural land and horticultural land;(2) Agricultural or horticultural purposes means used for the commercial production of any plant or animal product in a raw or unprocessed state that is derived from the science and art of agriculture, aquaculture, or horticulture. Agricultural or horticultural purposes includes the following uses of land:(a) Land retained or protected for future agricultural or horticultural purposes under a conservation easement as provided in the Conservation and Preservation Easements Act except when the parcel or a portion thereof is being used for purposes other than agricultural or horticultural purposes; and (b) Land enrolled in a federal or state program in which payments are received for removing such land from agricultural or horticultural production; (3) Farm home site means not more than one acre of land contiguous to a farm site which includes an inhabitable residence and improvements used for residential purposes, and such improvements include utility connections, water and sewer systems, and improved access to a public road; and(4) Farm site means the portion of land contiguous to land actively devoted to agriculture which includes improvements that are agricultural or horticultural in nature, including any uninhabitable or unimproved farm home site. SourceLaws 1985, LB 271, § 4; Laws 1986, LB 817, § 11; Laws 1988, LB 1207, § 3; Laws 1989, LB 361, § 14; Laws 1991, LB 320, § 7; Laws 1996, LB 934, § 3; Laws 1997, LB 270, § 77; Laws 2000, LB 419, § 1; Laws 2006, LB 808, § 35; Laws 2008, LB777, § 1.Operative Date: January 1, 2009 Cross ReferencesConservation and Preservation Easements Act, see section 76-2,118. AnnotationsThe inclusion of the term "parcel" requires a county assessor to consider the use of an entire tract of land, including any homesite, to determine whether that property qualifies as agricultural. Agena v. Lancaster Cty. Bd. of Equal., 276 Neb. 851, 758 N.W.2d 363 (2008).This section does not violate Neb. Const. art. VIII, sec. 1. Agena v. Lancaster Cty. Bd. of Equal., 276 Neb. 851, 758 N.W.2d 363 (2008).