Norwegianity quotes a New York Times Select column by Timothy Egan that decries how farm subsidies give disproportionate payments to corporate farmers and rancher-investors who think tack is something you do on a sailboat.
But government checks aren't the only feed in the trough for the Wall Street Cowboys.
Jake Dalla did well as a heavy equipment operator. Now he wants to be a rancher, turning 450 acres he owns outside Durango, Colorado, into grazing land. No matter it's better suited for, well, nothing at the moment. Getting it redesignated for agricultural use will save him plenty in taxes until the market becomes right to develop homesites for people flocking to the trendy region.
That's because vacant land is assessed at market value. Agricultural land is taxed based on its productive capacity. In Dalla's case for one 40-acre parcel, that's the difference between a valuation of $160,000 or $920.
If you think all those rich folks are buying up ranches just because they like to ride horsies, I've got some parched land in Wyoming to sell you.
