By Bob Katzen

The House gave initial approval to a bill that would expand current law and make more farmers eligible for a favorable valuation of property process that results in a tax break.

Under current law, to be eligible for the favorable valuation and the resulting tax break, a farmer must own and be farming a minimum of five contiguous acres of land. The bill would reduce the required number to two and not require the acres to be contiguous.

Supporters said that farming practices have been modernized and farmers no longer need vast contiguous acreage to grow crops and manage their livestock. They noted that in Eastern Massachusetts, contiguous land is getting harder to acquire.

“The bill basically would provide a farmer with multiple parcels of agricultural land the same taxation benefits that a farmer would receive if they owned all their five acres in the same municipality,” said sponsor Rep. James Arciero (D-Westford). “Whenever an owner holds two or more non-contiguous areas of land in one or more subdivisions of the commonwealth equaling not less than five acres, the owner shall have the right to apply for the provisions of this section provided all parcels are within a 10-mile radius of one another, or within the confines of a single municipality. The acreage would have to meet all the requirements for the benefits of this section as if the land was contiguous.”