Just bought a little bit of property in Montgomery County, just large enough to qualify for a bee exemption. I've found the general guidelines online (below link)

Guidelines for Beekeeping

Primary question - What's the best way to document 5 / 7 years of use to qualify for the exemption? Are there any legal means of not having to wait for 5 years from this point forward? Any other tips / tricks about the application process?

TIA

Your best bet is to contact the county appraisal's office to build that relationship and find out what their requirements are.

Unfortunately, counties have taken it upon themselves to supersede state ag/wildlife valuation requirements.

P.S., its a valuation rather than an exemption.

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Are there any legal means of not having to wait for 5 years from this point forward? Any other tips / tricks about the application process?

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Did the prior owner have any exemption ie Ag?

SanAntoneAg said:

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P.S., its a valuation rather than an exemption.

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Did we just become best friends??

roynonroy said:

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Are there any legal means of not having to wait for 5 years from this point forward? Any other tips / tricks about the application process?

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Did the prior owner have any exemption ie Ag?

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No, he didn't.

I can't help you with your 1-D-1 form or your 5 year wait to get your Ag exemption, but you need to start making honey now for the next 5 years and beyond. I know someone who took a beekeeping class a few years ago, built some boxes, and has been going through trials and tribulations of everything from learning how to harvest the sweet goods to losing colonies from a deep freeze. Good luck.

There are beekeepers out there that do this for a living. My brother is one of them but unfortunately he is near San Antonio. He places hives on the property, maintains the hives, provides the landowner with honey and gets a percentage of how much you saved on taxes or flat fee.

Not for everyone but works for lots of people. Everyone wants to do their own beekeeping until it's time to be a beekeeper.

Unfortunately hives aren't set and forget these days. Between swarming and die off, most struggle to keep them alive and healthy. We have 30-50% hive loss on any given year and that's his + others full time job.

Get in with your local bee club. If you want to raise your own, they can help you. If you want to hire someone, they can help you make contacts.

https://www.mocobees.com/

Appreciate some of the feedback. Just for clarity, I have no desire to get into beekeeping as a hobby. I am, however, interested (out of the kindness of my heart, of course) in giving someone else to opportunity to live out their beekeeping dreams.

I've know someone that hired a company to do this. Their county, Waller, would not let them protest the value of the land during the 5 year intro period. Not sure why, but may want to check this out if it applies to your situation.

We have bees in Navasota. Weaver bees between Navasota and hemstead. They take care of everything