Trend in agriculture toward subdividing

BUFFALO — Johnson County gained both farms and farmland between 2017 and 2022, according to the Department of Agriculture's Census of Agriculture released in February.

That bucks the trend both in Wyoming and nationwide.

While agriculture remains one of the county's biggest industries, the outcomes for Johnson County point to a trend toward greater subdivision of large ranch land into parcels with smaller acreage.

That trend revealed itself in the ag census and was not much of a surprise for locals who work in the land use sector.

A lot of landowners fill out the ag census – even small plots of land count if $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced or sold during the census year, according to the USDA.

Clear Creek Conservation District manager Zach Byram said that isn't a high bar to clear for people who keep chickens and sell the eggs or have one cow or one sheep on their property.

"I'm seeing more acreages being subdivided. It seems to me like people are looking for their little piece of the West and open space, and in the back of their mind, they want sheep, a pig or chickens,” Byram said. "That's part of what they're trying to capture from the West is having their own little chunk of land and some livestock.”

In Johnson County, the ag census counted 402 farms in 2022, up from 384 in the last census in 2017. The total acreage of farmland in the county also had a marginal increase from 2017 to 2022, up to more than 2 million acres from 1.97 million.

The county's most recent land use plan, last updated in 2005, shares some insight on operations by acreage. It says that on lands smaller than 179 acres, agricultural operations alone are unlikely to be able to sustain a household.

"These trends may suggest a growing number of persons who are seeking an agricultural lifestyle without expectation of profitable agriculture enterprise," the plan says, echoing Byram's sentiment.

The majority of operations made less than $25,000 a year, according to the 2022 ag census. Still, 133 operations generated $50,000 or more in revenue, 101 of which made more than $100,000. The county's comprehensive land use plan is due for an update, for which county planner Jim Waller will lead the charge in tandem with a consulting firm.

Waller looks at ag census data for planning purposes, he said. More subdividing means more people, which equates to more traffic, more pressure on water, more concerns with septic systems and, overall, more land use concerns.

Take Trabing Road, south of Buffalo, for example, he said.

“There was a point when all that land was owned by three to four families,” Waller wrote in an email. “Today, there are 80-plus houses on 86 parcels. In 1994, there were literally fewer than eight houses in the same area."

The county did see a decline in its cattle and sheep operations.

In 2022, the ag census counted 239 cow-calf operations, down from 247 in 2017. The area had one fewer sheep producer in 2022, down to 60 from 61 in 2017. Byram said the number of livestock on any given ranch is largely dependent on prices. The 2022 census counted fewer head of cattle and sheep in the county, which he said reflects a three-year drought that required ranchers to reduce their herd sizes, in most cases.

Last year's ample snowpack was good for cattle prices and, in turn, should continue to boost herd size for the time being, Byram said.

Having a hobby farm not only satisfies the desire to live a Western lifestyle, but it can also provide a tax break amid a recent rise in property taxes, Byram said.

Wyoming is a fractional assessment state, which means the taxable value is based on a portion of the full value. In Wyoming, this fractional amount is 9.5% for agricultural property.

In general, land in Wyoming that is used to sell an agricultural product, for which a landowner signs a sworn affidavit, can be assessed as agricultural property, Johnson County Assessor Steve Esponda said.

The county assessor's office determines whether a property can be taxed as agricultural land. Esponda said that what the ag census identifies as farmland in the county is independent from his assessment of a property.

Still, based on assessments, he's noticed that ranches are getting smaller and increasing in number as landowners split and sell their land.

"It's misleading to the person who doesn't know any better as far as what a ranch is," Esponda said of the census data. "A ranch grows livestock, and that's what supports them, not somebody that bought 40 acres and decided to lease it out to someone and they can get it mowed once a year so they can get a break on their taxes."

The conservation district in the past few years has offered programming, including educational materials and workshops, for landowners on small acreage parcels. Byram said this guidance has been an effort to ensure that newer landowners steward the lands that were traditionally part of large-acreage ag operations.

"For me, personally, it's dedicated to being a good steward with your property and trying to maintain the status quo, if not make it better,” he said.

This story was published on April 18, 2024.