The following definitions apply to this subchapter:

(1) "Agricultural products produced by the land" means crops or forage raised directly in the land's soil and used to support livestock. Agricultural products produced by the land does not mean land that is used as a platform for agricultural use such as the feeding of livestock from external sources that allow stocking rates to exceed the carrying capacity.

(2) "Ancillary improvements," as provided in 15-1-101, MCA, means improvements necessary for the production and storage of raw agricultural commodities. These improvements do not include improvements that are used to process, treat, or package raw agricultural commodities into a value-added product, or improvements designed to accommodate and serve the public.

(3) "Animal unit" means a cow/calf pair, including a mature cow of approximately 1,200 pounds and a calf as old as 6 months, or their equivalent.

(4) "Animal unit month" means one animal unit grazing for one month. One animal unit month represents the amount of forage needed to properly nourish one animal unit for one month without injurious effect to vegetation on the land.

(5) "Biological control insect" means an insect that is used to reduce or eliminate noxious weeds by interference with the weed's ecology.

(6) "Bona fide agricultural operation" means an enterprise in which the land actually produces agricultural products provided under the term, agricultural, defined in 15-1-101, MCA, that directly contribute agricultural income.

(7) "Carrying capacity" means the amount of grazing that a pasture will sustain without injurious effect to vegetative growth due to the quality of the soil and the environment where it occurs.

(8) "Conservation reserve program (CRP)" means a federal farm program administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) that pays agricultural landowners to remove land from crop production on highly erodible soils for a specified period of time.

(9) "Contiguous parcels of land" means separately described parcels of land under one ownership that physically touch one another or would have touched one another were the acreages not separated by:

(a) deeded roads and highways;

(b) rivers and streams;

(c) railroad lines; or

(d) federal or state land that is leased from the federal or state government by the owner whose land is physically touching the federal or state land.

(10) "Denied access or DA land" is a term used by the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to describe lands where they were prohibited from conducting a soil survey by the owner of the land.

(11) "Domestic grazing land" means all lands devoted to the production of forage from introduced plants that are not part of the original flora of an area that are harvested directly by grazing animals.

(12) "Income from agricultural production" means the gross amount of income received from the sale of food, feed, fiber commodities, livestock, poultry, bees, biological control insects, fruits, vegetables, and also includes sod, ornamental, nursery, and horticultural crops that are raised, grown, or produced for commercial purposes, income from farm rental, the sale of draft, breeding, dairy, or sporting livestock, the share of partnership or family corporation gross income received from a farming or ranching business entity, or the taxpayer's share of distributable income from an estate or trust involved in an agricultural business. When the income from agricultural production is used to qualify land for agricultural land classification, it must be reportable income for income tax purposes. Wages received as a farm employee or received from a farm corporation are not gross income from farming.

(13) "Land use" means the utilization of land which directly relates to its classification, in accordance with 15-7-103, MCA.

(14) "Lease" means an agreement transferring certain rights to a lessee (tenant), including possession, while still allowing the lessor (landlord) to retain fee ownership.

(15) "Livestock" means the same as it is defined in 15-1-101, MCA.

(16) "Native grazing land" means all lands devoted to the production of forage from native or naturalized plants that are harvested directly by grazing animals.

(17) "Nonqualified agricultural land" means parcels of land of 20 acres or more but less than 160 acres under one ownership that are not eligible for classification as agricultural land under 15-7-202(1), MCA.

(18) "Not completed or NOTCOM land" is a term used by the Natural Resource Conservation Service to describe lands where they have not completed a soil survey or have completed the soil survey but the results have not been published for public use.

(19) "Parcel" means a tract or plot of land distinguishable by ownership boundaries.

(20) "Pertinent" means scientific, verifiable information relating directly to a specific geographical area that could affect the productive capacity of the land.

(21) "Poultry" means the same as it is defined in 15-1-101, MCA.

(22) "Productivity" means the ability of a soil to produce crops or forage at the location, and under the environment and a specified system of management. Productivity can change over time due to changes in soil fertility or more efficient farming practices and equipment.

(23) "Productivity value" means the per-acre value of the agricultural land based on its productivity. The productivity value is determined using the formula provided in 15-7-201, MCA, and described in the subchapter.

(24) "Residence" means all conventionally constructed homes, as well as all mobile homes and manufactured housing, that may serve as living quarters for one or more individuals or a family, regardless of actual occupancy.

(25) "Residential" means land used for the purpose of family housing.

(26) "Residential use only" means land that allows buildings for the purpose of family housing and restricts commercial or industrial buildings.

(27) "Site-specific" means data associated within a defined geographic area, usually composed of similarly situated parcels of land characterized by reoccurring patterns of soils, geology, climate, water resources, and land use. Site-specific data may refer to one continuous area or several separate nearby areas. Site-specific data rarely references an individual ownership or an individual parcel of land.

(28) "Sole proprietorship" for the purposes of qualifying land for agricultural land classification under the provisions of 15-6-133 and 15-7-202, MCA, and ARM 42.20.682, means an ownership of agricultural land in the name of one or more individuals which can be any of the following: grandparent(s), parent(s), spouse, sibling(s), children, stepchildren, aunt(s), uncle(s), and first generation cousin(s).

(29) "Under one ownership" means when two or more parcels of land are deeded under an owner's identical name or when an owner has obtained department recognition of parcels under one ownership through the affidavit process described in ARM 42.20.620.