MADISON--Wisconsin farmers can breathe a sigh of relief as the provision to change the definition of agricultural land for property tax purposes has been removed from the state budget package that the State Senate approved Thursday night.

“We could not be happier to see this item removed from the budget package that the Legislature’s Conference Committee approved yesterday,” Wisconsin Farm Bureau President Bill Bruins said. “The provision would have resulted in a drastic spike in property taxes on nearly one million acres of farmland across our state."

The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation last week sent out an alert across the state warning farmers that the budget, if approved as written, could raise taxes in places from $3.50 per acre to $85 an acre. The change would have increased one Green Bay-area farmer’s taxes by $60,000 per year.

At a time when commodity prices are still relatively high and the dairy market is severely depressed, the change could have put numerous farms that operate close to cities or villages out of business.

“Farm Bureau wishes to thank a group of key lawmakers who worked hard to see that farm families were not punished by this provision,” Bruins said. “State Senator Kathleen Vinehout proved to be an invaluable friend to agriculture throughout this process in the State Senate. On the Assembly side, Speaker Mike Sheridan, Conference Committee member State Rep. Mary Hubler, and a coalition of rural Assembly Democrats led by State Representative Amy Sue Vruwink, all showed great leadership for rural Wisconsin.”

Bruins said the budget item was supposedly meant to take aim at developers, but instead it would have damaged the "long-term viability of our state’s agricultural economy and any hopes of slowing the loss of farmland."

The state’s budget could received approval by the state assembly, Friday, or in the near future.