Agricultural Dedication Program

Petition to Dedicate Lands to Agricultural Use for Commercial Farming (Product-to-Market) for a period of 5 years. 

Deadline to file is July 1 of any year, preceding the effective start year. 

There are roughly 151,000 acres of land solely devoted to farming in the County of Kauaʻi, according to the most current USDA agricultural census. This figure represents the total land area actively used for agricultural purposes, including cropland, pastureland and related farming activity. Within these farmlands, there are approximately 1,200 parcels which benefit from the Real Property Agricultural Dedication Program. This equates to millions of dollars annually in tax relief to the County's farming industry and to those individuals who own property where agricultural activities occur. The goal of the Agricultural Dedication Program is to incentivize farming on Kauaʻi, which in turn helps to perpetuate the island's rich history of agriculture. 

“Agricultural use” means the active use of the land for the production of agricultural products with the primary purpose of obtaining a monetary profit from income received from the sales of agricultural products. Agricultural use excludes selling, refining, or distributing agricultural products when the vegetation from which such products are derived was not grown on the parcel and when the animals from which such products derived were not raised on the parcel. Agricultural use includes meat packing or processing operations occurring on the same parcel the animals were raised on, provided that the packing or processing structure will be taxed based on its fair market value. 

“Agricultural products” means products derived from animals or vegetation, including: the cultivation of floriculture, horticulture, viticulture, and aquaculture products; forestry products; tree farm products; nut products; coffee products; dairy products; poultry products; bee products; livestock or animals raised by grazing and pasturing (except horses); and any other farm, agronomic, or plantation products, excluding products (e.g., hay) derived from guinea grass, leucaena (koa haole), panicum, pangola, kikuyu, napier grass, and similar forage crops.

For more information or to apply click on the link(s) listed below:

Petitions to Dedicate Land for Agricultural Use may be submitted online: connect.kauai.gov (link will open a new window)