Conversion of Farmland Assessments to Bulletin 810
All counties in Illinois are mandated to Bulletin 810 soil types and productivity indices for farmland assessments in 2006.
How will farmland be assessed in 2006?
Farmland will continue to be assessed according to the farmland assessment law. The farmland assessment law directs assessing officials to value land based upon the soil types, their Productivity Indices (PI) and land use. Market value of farmland does not enter into the assessment formula.
How will this be accomplished?
Beginning in 2006, we will use the individual soil method instead of the weighted tract method to assess farmland. Using the individual tract method, the acreage of each soil type in each land use on each parcel will be measured. Each soil’s acreage will be multiplied by the EAV for each soil’s PI. Soil EAV’s will then be totaled for that land use’s assessment. As in the past, PI’s will continue to be debased for slope and erosion as well as flooding. Cropland, which suffers actual crop loss due to flooding, may be eligible for a flood debasement.
What does this mean to the farm owner?
There will be noticeable differences in farmland assessments when the conversion to Bulletin 810 is completed. We will be using the newly realigned soil survey with new soil names and soil ID numbers. Some soil names found in Circular 1156 have changed. Many PI’s found in 1156 have been replaced with PI’s based on current yield information.
The 10% limitation of the farmland assessment law is still in place; however, in the transition from Circular 1156 PI’s and EAV’s to Bulletin 810 PI’s and EAV’s, the EAV of certain soils may change more than 10%. If the EAV of a soil changes more than 10% using 810 data, the 10% limitation will be effectively eliminated for the 2006 assessment year.
How do I get more information about farmland assessment with Bulletin 810?
