Volume 3 - Opinions of Counsel SBEA No. 100
Agricultural exemption (agricultural production requirement) (horse farms) (scientific research) - Agriculture and Markets Law, § 301(4):
The breeding of horses for scientific research is not “agricultural production” within the meaning of Article 25AA of the Agriculture and Markets Law and money derived from toxology experiments would not be eligible gross sales.
We have received an inquiry requesting clarification of the term of the Agriculture and Markets Law. The question is whether the breeding of horses for purposes of scientific research would qualify as “agricultural production”.
Article 25AA of the Agriculture and Markets Law provides for an agricultural value assessment for viable lands devoted to agricultural and horticultural use. To qualify for such an assessment, (1) the land must be not less than ten acres, (2) must have been in agricultural or horticultural production for the preceding two years, (3) must produce a gross sales value of $10,000 per year averaged over the two preceding years, and (4) must be either located within an established agricultural district or subject to an individual eight year agricultural commitment.
For purposes of this exemption, qualified agricultural production, as defined by section 301(4) (e), includes the production of livestock for commercial purposes, specifically including horses. In addition, section 305 states that land supporting such production must produce, for sale, agricultural products which have gross average sales value of $10,000 or more. These two sections of the statute, read together, require that eligible land support the raising of horses for sale and produce a gross average sales value of $10,000 over the two preceding years.
Breeding of horses for purposes other than actual sale is, therefore, not agricultural production as contemplated by the Legislature. Gross sales derived from the intermediate use of livestock, such as for scientific experimentation, would not qualify for purposes of this exemption. Thus, money derived from toxology experiments would not be eligible gross sales.
May 31, 1974
NOTE: See also L.1992, c.797.
