Why were changes made to the Green Acres program?

The Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) studied the Green Acres program and released a report on its finding in February 2008.
It discovered several flaws.
GREEN ACRES REDUCES TAX BURDEN FOR FARMERS, THEN SHIFTS TAXES TO OTHERS
According to Jody Hauer of the OLA, the Green Acres program does reduce taxes for many farmers. It does this by reducing the value of the land for taxation purposes. Rather than value the land at the highest and best use, the land is merely valued at what it is worth as a farm.
Land in Chisago, Isanti, Sherburne and Wright Counties is typically valued at an average of $6,500 an acre. Under the Green Acres program, farmland is being taxed at $1,900 per acre – more than three times less.
Across the state, $35 million in taxes is being deferred or reduced, according to Steve Heinze, a non-partisan member of the House Research Department.
While farmers are paying less, this does not mean that the amount of taxes coming in from a county is less overall. Instead, non-farmers are picking up a larger share of the tax burden, pointed out Representative Rob Eastlund, who is himself a farmer.
GREEN ACRES DOES NOT EFFECTIVELY PRESERVE FARMLAND
The OLA found that the program was not saving farmland in the lon term.
"Although the program reduces the tax burden for eligible owners, we concluded it does not effectively preserve farmland beyond the short term," said Hauer.
Part of that is because the three-year payback that has always been in the program is relatively short. Even when they pay back the penalty for taking land out, landowners often come out ahead by selling the land for development.
Also factoring into the equation is that landowners are not asked to commit to the program long term.
The OLA also concluded, "Green Acres' effectiveness at land preservation is limited because the program is not targeted to high-quality land or to land that is at risk of soon being developed."
LANDOWNERS ACROSS THE STATE ARE NOT BEING TREATED EQUALLY
Additionally, the program is not being applied the same throughout the state. While land in one county may be eligible, it is not in another area.
The old law was also unclear about what types of landowners and land could benefit. Some in the program were investors who owned the land but were not farmers. This included a large parcel near the Mall of America and another near the outlet center along Interstate 94.
The value of land for recreation and hunting also factored in.
The OLA questioned the practice of allowing non-productive land to be included within the Green Acres program.
Consequently, the OLA recommended that the Legislature clarify in statute who and what types of land should benefit from the Green Acres program, said Hauer.
For the full report, browse www.auditor.leg.state.mn/ped/2008/greenacres.htm.