Agricultural Valuation
Farm and ranch land can be taxed on productivity, not market value
Landowners in Midland County who use their land for farming, ranching, or wildlife management can apply for agricultural special appraisal to lower their property taxes.
Texas law lets qualifying farm and ranch land be taxed on what it can produce — not on what a buyer would pay for it. That productivity value is almost always lower than market value. So taxes can be much lower.
To qualify, the land must have been used for agriculture for at least five of the last seven years. You apply at the Midland Central Appraisal District (MCAD) using Form 50-129. MCAD is the local office that values your property for tax purposes.
If you later change the land to a non-farm use, you will owe a rollback tax. That means taxes are recalculated for each of the previous three years based on the difference between what you paid and what you would have owed at market value. Check the Texas Comptroller's website for full details on eligibility and how the rollback tax works.
Source to confirm: Texas Comptroller — Agricultural, Timberland and Wildlife Management Special Appraisal