West Texas farmers see property values skyrocket, hope for a good crop year

LUBBOCK, Texas — When West Texas farmers received their property tax values in the mail a month ago, many saw some daunting numbers that were much higher than usual.

According to Gary Adrian, a registered property tax consultant with Ace of Texas, it was the biggest change in property values they saw this year. In the week after property values came out, he’d already spoken with hundreds of farmers.

Some farmers saw their values triple or quadruple, according to Adrian. EverythingLubbock.com spoke with a farmer on Friday, May 3 who saw his property values go up.

“Nobody likes that. When we got our tax statement … everything went up,” Jeremy Brown, a West Texas cotton farmer said.

While Brown said most things in the economy are high now, it’s still hard to see those numbers after the dryness farmers have experienced the past two years. The bill brings up some things for Brown to consider when it comes to cutting costs.

“We’re going to really question those other inputs that are necessary at times and say are they necessary? Can we grow this crop this year without those?” Brown said.

Adrian said he empathizes with the farmers who are experiencing the jump in values.

“It’s hard enough to make a living without having to pay too much tax. Dryland cotton farmers have not made much of a crop in the last year. Most of them have had to shred it because it wasn’t worth harvesting,” Adrian said. “The expenses are astronomical.”

While Adrian doesn’t know the exact reason why the values jumped, he’s encouraging the farmers who feel like their values are too high, to protest them.

“If you feel like your value went up more than what your land is actually worth, then challenge that value. File the protest. Do everything that you can to make sure that you’re getting a fair shake,” Adrian said.

With less of a crop from the past two years and higher property values this year, Brown said he’ll watch out for a few things to stay afloat.

“You just have to tighten your belt, watch what you spend and try not to leverage yourself too much and hope that it rains to grow the crop. We really need a crop,” Brown said.

Nevertheless, Brown is keeping his hopes high – especially right before summer.

“Will Rogers said that a farmer has to be an optimist, or he wouldn’t be a farmer,” Brown said.

If you want to protest your property value, you can find a site to do so here . You can also find more information about protecting your value on the Lubbock County Appraisal District website .

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