Applying for Farm Status in BC
Classification as a farm is a voluntary program. Therefore, when a landowner is applying for farm status in BC, the onus is on them to ensure their land qualifies before they submit their application. Landowners who desire all or a portion of their property classified as a farm must submit the General Application for Farm Classification or the Retired Farmer’s Dwelling Land Application to their local Assessor.
The Farm Classification Legislation stipulates that farm applications and any applicable farm class land lease must be filed to BC Assessment by October 31 for the subsequent tax year. Owners who apply by the middle of the year provide BC Assessment farm appraisers time to conduct a field inspection or seek more information to determine farm status eligibility.
Applying For Farm Status In BC
When applying for farm status in British Columbia, landowners must understand how to fill out the Farm Application to support their farm operation. The above seems simple enough, but after reviewing countless farm applications, I know many farmers’ applications are full of errors and omissions.
The problem is that most farmers need to include the right or more information on the farm application. Suppose a landowner submits an incorrect application early in the Assessment year. If this is the case, there is a slight chance that a BC Assessment farm appraiser will contact the landowner to let them know their application is denied. That being said, farm appraisers have a heavy workload throughout the year, and it is not guaranteed that they will contact you.
Applications submitted later in the year that contain errors or omissions are denied without a call to the landowner because there is no time to extend a courtesy call. The priority is given to correctly completed farm applications.
Another reason a Farm Application will be denied is that the information supplied makes it clear that the planned farm operation does not meet the requirements of the Farm Regulation.
Farm Classification Approval
All landowners find out about their farm status approval when they receive their Assessment notice in January. When landowners receive their Assessment Notice and Farm Classification is denied, they can appeal the denial decision but will face an uphill battle to get it reversed. The reason is that the requirements for the Farm Application must be met by the prior October 31 as set out in the Classification of Land as a Farm Regulation (BC Reg 411/95).
BC Assessment sends out Farm Classification removal notices in December, but these are advanced notices for farm properties previously approved for farm status. Depending on the reason for the removal, many of these farmers face a similar uphill battle to get farm status approved.
Developing Farms
These farms are being developed or redeveloped for a qualifying agricultural use but require a development period before production can commence. The development period varies depending on the type of farm operation, and the typical range for a developing farm is between 1 to 12 years.
The development horizon is approved based on the qualifying agricultural product, not your situation. If you are developing a farm and fall behind due to lack of a qualifying agricultural product, weather, or some other unforeseen setback, developing farm status will not be approved.
Developing farms must meet specific criteria by October 31 in the year of application. These criteria are set out in Section 8 of the Classification of Land as a Farm Regulation.
The development requirements change depending on the qualified agricultural product farmed, and the requisite conditions for crops differ from livestock.
However, even if you have met all the requirements, if the Assessor is not satisfied that your development farm is not viable, the farm application will be rejected.
All new farms remain in a “development status” with BC Assessment for a minimum of the first two years after production commences. The development status period is to ensure a viable farm is established. Failing to meet the minimum farm income during this period will result in the removal of the Farm Classification.
Once you successfully pass the development status phase, your farm is considered “active” and changes from annual reporting to periodic reporting. Periodic reporting depends on the type of farm operation and the historical farm income achieved.
Active Farms
Farm Classification is granted annually, which means your farm status is technically only valid for one year. Although, if there are no changes to the farm products and a viable farm is still operating, a new Farm Application is not required. Farm status will be reapproved annually based on your original application.
There are situations when an active farmlandowner must submit an updated Farm Application—for example, a farm switches from food crops to hay production. Likewise, an updated Farm Application is required when a farmer adds or removes qualified agricultural products to their farm operation. Any change in the farm operation requires a new Farm Application.
Denied Farm Applications
As mentioned earlier, when a Farm Application is denied, the farmer always has the option to appeal the denial. In this situation, the landowner must collect and submit evidence to the Property Assessment Review Panel to support their position. The Assessor will also collect and present evidence to support their denial decision. If the landowner can convince the Panel that their land should receive farm status, the Panel can overturn the Assessor’s Farm Classification denial.
When the landowner is successful, the Assessor will likely require an updated farm application, but only in some cases. On the other hand, if the Panel upholds the Assessor’s denial and you choose not to continue with the appeal to the next level, your option is to fix the Assessor’s issues and reapply with a new Farm Application.
Conclusion
While the Farm Application seems straightforward and your best efforts to meet the Farm Regulation requirements, you may still be denied farm status.
Receiving farm status is critical to the profitability of every farm operation. Only recently, landowners had a professional service to help apply for farm status in BC.
Farmassessment.com offers services that dramatically increase the likelihood that your property will be approved for farm status in BC. We can handle all aspects required by the Farm Regulation and can virtually confirm if your farm will be approved or denied before you even apply for Farm Classification. We will even handle the Farm Application to ensure it represents your farm operation correctly.