Midwest Land Co. Newsletters

Farm News: Across the Fence

 Nebraska law requires that farmland be assessed at between 74% and 80% of fair market value, and the county assessors across Nebraska re-valued all farmland this spring.  We received the new valuation notices for the farms on which we pay the real estate taxes.  We analyzed the assessed valuations for each farm on both a per acre basis and in comparison to other comparable farms to determine if there was reasonable justification to appeal.  Except for a few areas, the increases in assessed valuations were consistent across all the farms and there was no basis for appeal.

 Almost without exception, the assessed values for area farm land increased by about 20-22% over the prior year.  Real estate taxes may not increase by a similar percentage since the actual tax will be determined by the levy (set in October) and by the percentage that residential, commercial and personal property valuations rose.  These non-farm property values rose about 14% and I expect a shift in taxes from non-farm property to farm land and a real estate tax increase in the coming year.

Dave Ewing

Broker

Midwest Land Co.