ment may employ to preserve and protect its agricultural

ment may employ to preserve and protect its agricultural and forestal land. With its passage, the legislators recognized the critical role farm and timber industries play in both state and local economies. Closer to home, the importance of farm and forest lands was highlighted by a study conducted in 1985 by the Warrenton-based Piedmont Environmental Council.

PEC’s survey showed that in Rappahannock County, residential use is being subsidized by farms, forests and open space, even with the deferral for use value taxation. The data collected by PEC shows that in 1985 for every dollar of revenue collected in taxes from residential land, $1.20 was spent on county services required By the same residential properties. The deficit was covered by farm, forest and open space, which took 17 cents in services for every dollar paid in taxes and by industrial and commercial properties which required 53 cents worth of services from each tax dollar.

Or viewed another way, residential land use had a negative balance of $552,000 because county expenditures of $3,300,000 for residential-related services exceeded revenues of $2,700,000 derived from residential land. Eighty-nine percent of this net deficit was made up by excess revenues from farm, forest and open space land and 11 percent from industrial and commercial property.

PEC’s study buttresses what the General Assembly knew when it enacted the enabling legislation: encouraging the protection of open land is not merely an indulgence for wealthy communities but rather is fiscally responsible public policy.

The rules and regulations

To qualify for the use value assessment program, farm and horticultural land must have been in agricultural production for the five preceeding years, either as pasture for livestock with one ani