Keep your Texas ag valuation, with the records to prove it

For land with Texas open-space (1-d-1) agricultural valuation

Grazing, hay, crops, goats, bees or a lease to a neighbor's cattle: Habitat Ledger keeps the head counts, hay cuttings, leases, receipts and dated photos that show your land is in agricultural use, and checks it against your county's standards.

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What Texas requires

Agricultural use	Grazing livestock, hay, crops, orchards, beekeeping (5 to 20 acres), exotic livestock raised for meat or hides, and more. Hunting and pleasure horses don't count.
Degree of intensity	The land has to be used as hard as is typical for your area. Your county appraisal district sets the numbers, like minimum acres and animal units per acre.
History	In ag use for 5 of the 7 years before you apply.
Deadline	Application (Form 50-129) before May 1 for new owners, or when the district asks. Changes in use must be reported in writing before May 1.
Rollback tax	Changing the land to a non-ag use brings back 3 years of the tax difference.
Source	Texas Tax Code §23.51, §23.54, §23.55 and the Comptroller's Manual for the Appraisal of Agricultural Land

What Habitat Ledger does for ag land

County check. Compares your acres and animal units to your county's standards and shows green, yellow or red.
Head counts with an animal-unit calculator. Cows and calves, bulls, goats, sheep, horses. Log from your phone with dated photos.
Hay, crops and pasture work. Cuttings, bale counts, fertilizer, seed, spraying and harvests.
Leases. Store the lease, the tenant's head count and the term, and print the oral-lease letter districts ask for.
5-of-7-year history. A year-by-year record of how the land was used.
January 1 reminder. Land has to qualify on January 1, so Habitat Ledger reminds you to take dated photos and a head count.
One-click proof packet. If the district asks you to reapply, print everything in one document.
Receipts and a year-end expense summary for your accountant, with an export for QuickBooks.
Ag to wildlife. When you're ready to switch, your ag history comes with you.

North Texas county standards

These come from each appraisal district's own published ag guidelines. Habitat Ledger checks your property against them.

County	Min. acres	Min. animal units	Improved pasture	Native pasture
Clay	20	—	1 per 10 acres	1 per 20 acres	Source
20 acres, not counting a homesite of at least 2 acres. About 1 producing animal unit per 10 acres.
Collin	—	2	1 per 3–5 acres	1 per 4–6 acres	Source
No set minimum acreage. The district looks for at least 2 animal units on the land for 180 days or more a year; it recommends 6–10 acres of improved or 8–12 acres of native pasture for 2 animal units.
Grayson	10	—	1 per 3 acres	1 per 7–10 acres	Source
10 acres minimum. Sheep and goats: 10 head. A typical small cattle operation runs about 5 cows. Guidelines revised 2009; confirm they are current.
Hood	5	—	1 per 5 acres	1 per 15 acres	Source
Improved pasture: 5 acres. Native pasture: 15 acres.
Jack	10	—	1 per 10–15 acres	1 per 10–15 acres	Source
Cattle: 10 acres. Sheep and goats: 5 acres. Horses: 5 head or 50 acres.
Montague	10	—	1 per 5–10 acres	1 per 5–10 acres	Source
10 acres in production, not counting the house. Cattle: 10 animal units, or 30 acres or more. Sheep and goats: 10 animal units on 10 acres. Horses: 5 animals, or 30 acres or more.
Palo Pinto	20	4	1 per 5 acres	1 per 10 acres	Source
Large animals (cattle, horses, bison): 20 acres. Goats, sheep and small exotics: 10 acres. Hay: 10 acres of improved pasture. Minimum herd on that acreage: 4 cows, 8 yearlings, 2 adult horses, or 12 goats or sheep. Typical land for the minimum herd: 20 acres improved pasture or 40 acres native. One acre is held out for a homesite, and the district requires a written lease. Source: the district’s 2027 Open Space manual, sent by the chief appraiser.
Parker	5	—	1 per 2–3 acres	1 per 8–10 acres	Source
Improved pasture: 5 acres minimum. Native pasture: 10 acres minimum. Tracts under 5 acres with a home are generally treated as residential.
Tarrant	8	4	1 per 3–5 acres	1 per 6–7 acres	Source
Improved pasture and hay: 8 acres. Native pasture and cropland: 10 acres. At least 4 animal units. Confirm the guidelines are current with the district.
Wise	5	2	1 per 5–10 acres	1 per 15–25 acres	Source
More than 5 acres, not counting the homesite (more than 6.01 acres when improvements are on the land). The guidelines list 15–25 acres per animal unit on native pasture in one place and 20–25 in another.
Young	—	—	1 per 10 acres	1 per 20 acres	Source
No minimum acreage for grazing (row crops: 20 acres). A typical cow-calf herd is at least 5 head.

Acres per animal unit. A blank means the district doesn't publish that number. Call your district to confirm. Denton, Cooke, Johnson and Ellis counties don't post their ag standards online, so call them directly.

Questions

What does Texas require for ag valuation?

Texas Tax Code Section 23.51 requires land to be used principally for agriculture to the degree of intensity generally accepted in the area, and to have been in agricultural use for 5 of the 7 years before you apply. Each county appraisal district sets its own standards, such as minimum acres and animal units.

Is there a yearly ag report?

No. Once ag valuation is granted it stays on without a new application unless the land is sold, it stops qualifying, or the appraisal district sends a letter asking you to reapply. A new owner's application (Form 50-129) is due before May 1.

What if I lease my land to a rancher?

That counts, as long as the tenant's use meets your county's standards. Districts usually want a copy of a written lease, or a letter describing an oral lease: the kind of use, head count or acres, how long it runs and the tenant's contact information. Habitat Ledger stores the lease and prints that letter.

Can I switch from ag to wildlife later?

Yes. Texas only allows wildlife valuation on land that already qualifies for ag valuation. Habitat Ledger keeps your ag history and moves the property to wildlife mode when you're ready.

Thinking about wildlife instead? Try the free property check or read converting ag to wildlife.

Keep your ag valuation

Set up your property in a few minutes. Pick "Agriculture" when you add it.

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Habitat Ledger is record-keeping software, not legal or tax advice. Each county appraisal district sets its own standards and decides whether land qualifies. Habitat Ledger is not affiliated with any appraisal district or the Texas Comptroller.