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DENVER, CO – The House today advanced legislation on a preliminary vote sponsored by Speaker Julie McCluskie and Representative Karen McCormick to save small farmers and ranchers money on their property taxes.
“Family farmers and smaller ranches strengthen rural economies, and this bill supports our local ag producers,” said Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon. “At a time when trade wars, tariffs and imported Argentine beef are driving up costs for Colorado farmers and undercutting our ranchers, we’re doing more to save our hardworking ag producers money. With this bill, we’re extending the property tax exemptions for smaller farming and ranching operations that use their land for pasture-based grazing.
“We’re putting Colorado farmers and ranchers first by lowering property taxes for smaller operations,” said Rep. Karen McCormick, D-Longmont. “Trade wars and tariffs have hurt the bottom line of many of our farmers and ranchers in Colorado, and this bill helps save them money. By reducing property taxes for smaller operations that use their land for grazing, we’re supporting the hardworking people who keep Coloradans fed.”
SB26-010 would save Colorado farmers and ranchers money on their property taxes by broadening the definition of "ranch" and “farm” in statute. First unanimously approved by the Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee, this bill would modify the definitions used to classify land as agricultural for property tax purposes. Under this bill, the new definition would allow small and family-owned ranches and farms to benefit from existing property tax exemptions.
It would also specify that a farm is primarily used to produce agricultural products, while a ranch is primarily used for grazing livestock through pasture-based operations. Agricultural land is generally valued lower than other property classifications, and this bill only expands the property tax benefits to producers.
The Trump Administration’s tariffs have driven up costs for Colorado’s businesses, farmers, ranchers, and consumers and limited the available international markets for producers to sell their products. An announcement from the Trump Administration last year to quadruple the amount of beef the U.S. imports from Argentina drastically undermined Colorado beef producers during peak season.