Bee Leasing
Do you own 5–21 acres of land in Texas? You may qualify for a Texas Agricultural Exemption (Ag Valuation) and pay a reduced property tax rate—all while keeping bees!
How it works:
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Texas offers Ag Exemption for land used for agricultural purposes. Beekeeping qualifies as agricultural use.
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The number of hives required depends on your county and acreage—typically 5–13 hives.
We make it easy:
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We manage all aspects of the beehives: treatments, maintenance, and replacing lost hives.
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All we ask is about 20 feet of clearance around the hives and vehicle access to the site.
For land without an agricultural history:
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Texas normally requires proof of agricultural activity for 5 of the last 7 years.
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If your land doesn’t meet that requirement yet, we can start the process immediately.
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Using our gradual hive plan, we can increase the number of hives over 5 years, allowing you to spread costs over time while building the agricultural history required for the exemption.
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Our 5-year contract consolidates all activity into a single, state-acceptable document, making compliance simple.
Important note on homesteads:
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Homestead exemptions do not count toward the acreage needed for Ag Exemption. For example, a 1-acre homestead plus 5 acres of agricultural land qualifies for the exemption whereas 5 acres with a 1-acre homestead on it does not.
Get started today and reduce your property taxes while putting your land to productive use!
Here's an Example:
Let's Assume:
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The land does not already have an Ag Valuation and no agricultural history on the land
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The annual Market Tax for land is $10,000 per year
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The landowner starts with a couple hives and increases the number of hives each year until the agriculture requirement is met in Year 5. The Bee Leasing Rate is $2000 per year after that*
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After Year 5, the landowner applies for the Agriculture Valuation
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Once an Agriculture Valuation is applied, the tax rate would be reduced to $1200 per year
*These rates are just an example, rates are dependent on the several factors such as number of hives required, lot size, etc.
Here is what the potential payments/savings would look like:
The initial cost will be slightly above the market rate, since the landowner would need the agricultural history for five years, but once the Ag Valuation is applied, the landowner will save a significant amount of money every year even when accounting for the bee lease.