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Land use
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ginia’s farmers to keep their land in agricultural production. As development pressures increase, farmers see an increasing potential value in their land if it is sold for development. Most farmers could make far more money by selling the land and investing the proceeds than they can make farming — particularly as profit margins in farming decline.
At the same time the farmer watches his profits drop, his yearly real estate tax bills reflect dramatically higher tax assessments which are based on that potential value - known as the fair market value.
In an attempt to balance the state’s and localities’ need and desire to keep land open and in use for agricultural production, while not hobbling farmers with steep tax rates which do not reflect the true use of the land, in 1971 the Virginia General Assembly empow ered its localities to enact a system of land use taxation. That program provides for dramatically lower tax rates, subject to the restrictions outlined above.
Rappahannock County first adopted the land use program in 1981. It first took effect with a new reassessment for the taxes due in 1982.
95.2%