Virginia Beach is placing a cap on the value of agricultural land

armers want the city to cap the value of agricultural land so property taxes don’t get out of control when crop prices are doing well.  Over the past seven years, the value of an acre jumped by $1,820. Land values rise and fall based on the price of corn, wheat and soybeans.  When crop prices were up, those increases were passed on to farmers.  “If you owned, your tax costs went up,” Agriculture Director David Trimmer said. “And if you rent it, your rent went up.”  But when commodity prices drop like they have over the past three years, it takes a while for the land values to adjust, Trimmer said.  Real Estate Assessor Jerry Banagan plans to cap the agriculture land values at $1,800 per acre based on the most recent assessment of farmland in 2009. The change will be reflected in the tax period covering July through December, he said during a presentation to council members Tuesday. The city will lose $73,200 in taxes during that time.