Virginia law allows for localities adopting a program of special assessments for agriculture, horticulture, forestry and/or open space lands for their land to be taxed based on the value of the land in one of these four uses (use value) instead of its market value. This document describes methods and procedures used to calculate use values for agriculture and horticulture land based on an income and rental rate approach.

This report follows the analysis presented in the previous year's "Agricultural Land Sales in Virginia" report (Kayser et al. 2022). This report extends the analysis to agricultural land sales in the Commonwealth of Virginia for the year 2021. Similar to its predecessor, this report offers a detailed examination of market-based agricultural land transactions, providing insights at both the multi-county district and statewide levels.

This report extends the analysis from previous years' "Agricultural Land Sales in Virginia" reports (Kayser et al. 2022) to cover agricultural land transactions within the Commonwealth of Virginia for the year 2022. Similar to prior editions, this report provides a detailed examination of market-based agricultural land sales, utilizing verified arm's-length transactions. The analysis captures market trends at both the statewide and Agricultural Statistics District (ASD) levels, providing a comprehensive view of the agricultural land market in Virginia.

The history of Virginia fence law began not long after the first English settlement was founded in 1607. Virginia fence law has transcended from requiring landowners to fence in their livestock beginning in 1631, to requiring landowners to fence-out unwanted livestock beginning in 1643, to the modern-day rule granting localities the authority to return to a fence-in rule of law. This overview sets forth the history of Virginia fence law and explains the modern-day rule of law, including what constitutes a lawful fence and when you need one.

This analysis examines agricultural land sales trends in Virginia, focusing on transaction volume, price-per-acre changes, and regional differences. The study finds a decrease in overall transaction volume across the state, which could be influenced by broader real estate market conditions. Data from the analysis is also compared to other agricultural land value studies.

The publication provides an overview of the property tax reassessment process in Virginia. It explains why tax reassessment is important, and what the typical process looks like for Virginia jurisdictions. The paper gives a breakdown on how often reassessments are conducted, how the process differs for counties versus cities, and a step-by-step breakdown of the process for contractors or state officials. In addition to reassessment methodologies, the publication also provides figures showing statistical breakdowns of reassessment factors such as contracting or conducting in-house, the use of a physical inspection, and common reassessment intervals.

Every year in August the USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) releases cash rental rates for 3 distinct land classes in Virginia as mandated by the 2008 Farm Bill. Rental rates for irrigated and non-irrigated cropland and pastureland were recently released for Virginia counties and cities. Provided below is 2023 rental rates by jurisdiction for irrigated and non-irrigated cropland and pastureland.

To support hunger relief work, and to keep safe, quality food from ending up in a landfill, the Code of Virginia (§§ 3.2-5144 and 35.1-14.2) and U.S. Code (42 U.S.C. § 1791) provides certain regulatory exemptions and liability protections to organizations which distribute donated food to people who need it. This includes nonprofit organizations and qualified direct donors. This publication is meant to highlight the regulatory exemptions and liability protections which exist for organizations which distribute donated foods. This publication does not contain legal advice, and any legal questions should be directed to a qualified legal professional.