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Landowners look to Wildlife Exemption to ease Ag burdens Reply

As many Texas land owners struggle to maintain their Agricultural Exemption due to drought and a difficult economy, more and more are learning about an alternative that could help simplify their land management challenges.  

Wildlife Exemption: Compelling Alternative to Ag

By Tim Milligan

Let’s face it, maintaining an Agricultural valuation (“Ag exemption”) is a fact of life for many folks who own rural property in Texas. No one is in Ag because it’s easy, and lately, it’s a battle that more and more folks are either losing, or thinking about giving up.

For those of us in Ag, we’ve spent years meeting grazing requirements, cultivating crops, and spending time and money on efforts that normally yield nothing more than lower taxes.  All the while, we watch our once beautiful property slowly turn into something different than what is was when we started, and many of us feel like there’s nothing we can do about it because we need to maintain our tax savings.

Ag as a Way of Life

First let me say this: if you’re a legitimate producer and your Ag operation is part of your livelihood, this is not aimed at you.  I have the utmost respect for those who are willing to work that life so that the rest of us don’t have to.  Or, if you truly love Ag and, you’re managing fine, your property is not suffering and you are not