What Is CAUV?

Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV) is a differential real estate tax assessment program which affords owners of farmland the opportunity to have their parcels taxed according to their value in agriculture, rather than full market value. It is the result of a referendum passed by Ohio voters in November, 1973. The Ohio General Assembly subsequently passed Senate Bill 423 in April, 1974, establishing CAUV Program by law.

Who Qualifies for CAUV?

To qualify for use value assessment, a landowner must devote the parcel "exclusively to agricultural use," as stated in Section 5713.30 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC). By definition, this means "tracts, lots, or parcels of land totaling not less than 10 acres that...were devoted exclusively to commercial animal or poultry husbandry, aquaculture, apiculture, the production for a commercial use of field crops, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, ornamental trees, sod, or flowers, or the growth of timber for a noncommercial purpose, if the land on which the timber is grown is contiguous to land that is already eligible for CAUV. An owner of farmland may also qualify for CAUV if, "such land has been lying idle or fallow for up to one year and no action has occurred to such land that is either inconsistent with its return to agricultural production or converts the land devoted exclusively to agricultural use..." [ORC 5713.30(A)(4)]