(h) Conversion means an outward or affirmative act changing the use of agricultural land and shall not mean the nonuse or idling of such land. A conversion also does not occur when:

1. (1) oil, gas or wind rights associated with agricultural land are conveyed;
2. (2) agricultural land is used for oil, gas or wind exploration, development or extraction activity;
3. (3) agricultural land is taken by eminent domain or other involuntary proceeding other than a tax sale; or
4. (4) agricultural land within the New York City Watershed Area is purchased in fee by New York City for watershed protection purposes or a conservation easement in such land is conveyed by New York City to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in order to prohibit future agricultural use.

(i) Crops, livestock and livestock products shall include but not be limited to the following:

1. (1) field crops, including corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, hay, potatoes and dry beans;
2. (2) fruits, including apples, peaches, grapes, cherries and berries;
3. (3) vegetables, including tomatoes, snap beans, cabbage, carrots, beets and onions;
4. (4) horticultural specialties, including nursery stock, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees and flowers;
5. (5) livestock and livestock products, including cattle, sheep, hogs, goats, horses, poultry, ratites, such as ostriches, emus, rheas and kiwis, farmed deer, farmed buffalo, fur bearing animals, wool bearing animals, such as alpacas and llamas, milk, eggs and furs;
6. (6) maple sap or syrup;
7. (7) Christmas trees derived from a managed Christmas tree operation whether dug for transplanting or cut from the stump;
8. (8) aquaculture products, including fish, fish products, water plants and shellfish;
9. (9) woody biomass, which means short rotation woody crops raised for bioenergy, and shall not include farm woodland; and
10. (10) apiary products, including honey, beeswax, royal jelly, bee pollen, propolis, package bees, nucs and queens. Nucs are small honey bee colonies created from larger colonies including the nuc box, which is a smaller version of a beehive, designed to hold up to five frames from an existing colony.

(k) Gross sales value means the proceeds from the sale of:

1. (1) crops, livestock or livestock products produced on land used in agricultural production, provided that whenever a crop is processed before sale, the proceeds shall be limited to the market value of such crop in its unprocessed state;
2. (2) woodland products from qualified farm woodland, not to exceed $2,000 annually;
3. (3) aquaculture products;
4. (4) honey and beeswax produced by bees in hives located on an otherwise qualified farm operation but which does not independently satisfy the gross sales requirement;
5. (5) maple syrup processed from maple sap produced on land used in agricultural production in conjunction with the same or an otherwise qualified farm operation;
6. (6) payments received by reason of land set aside pursuant to Agriculture and Markets Law, section 301(4)(e);
7. (7) payments received by thoroughbred horse breeders pursuant to Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law, section 247; and

8. (8) effective January 1, 2009, compost, mulch or other biomass crops, as defined by Agriculture and Markets Law, section 301(16), not to exceed $5,000 annually.

   The market value may be determined using published price information from the New York State Agricultural Statistics Service or other verifiable sources. The quantity of production prior to processing should be substantiated by the applicant in a manner acceptable to the assessor.

(m) Land used in agricultural production or agricultural land generally means not less than seven acres of land and/or water bodies used in aquacultural production used as a single operation in the preceding two years for the production for sale of crops, livestock and livestock products of an average gross sales value of $10,000 or more. Land used in agricultural production also may include:

1. (1) qualified rented land, qualified farm woodland and support land, land hereinafter defined as a managed Christmas tree operation used to produce Christmas trees, and land hereinafter defined as sugarbush but not nonagricultural land;
2. (2) land set aside through participation in a Federal conservation program pursuant to title one of the Federal Food Security Act of 1985 or any subsequent Federal programs established for the purpose of replenishing highly erodible land which has been depleted by continuous tilling or reducing material surpluses of agricultural commodities provided it is part of and contiguous with a single farm operation which otherwise satisfies the requirements for eligibility for an agricultural assessment;
3. (3) land of less than seven acres used in agricultural or aquacultural production as a single operation in the preceding two years for the production for sale of crops, livestock and livestock products of an average gross sales value of $50,000 or more;
4. (4) a commercial horse boarding operation supported by not less than seven acres that in the preceding two years has produced annual gross receipts of $10,000 or more through the boarding of horses and/or from the sale of crops, livestock and livestock products, boards at least 10 horses regardless of ownership, and is not primarily used for horse racing;
5. (5) land situated under a structure within which crops, livestock or livestock products are produced for sale, provided that the aforementioned products have an average gross sales value of $10,000 or more, if the farm operation uses seven or more acres in agricultural production, or has an average gross sales value of $50,000 or more, if the farm operation uses less than seven acres in agricultural production;
6. (6) the agricultural land of a qualified newly established farm operation that satisfies the definition set forth in subdivision (o) of this section; or

7. (7) rented land located within an agricultural district used by a not-for-profit institution for agricultural research intended to improve the quality or quantity of crops, livestock or livestock products, regardless of whether such land's crops, livestock or livestock products have any gross sales value.

   Agricultural land located within an agricultural district may also qualify for an agricultural assessment when the cooperative extension service certifies on a form prescribed by the State Board that an act of God, natural disaster or continued adverse weather conditions has destroyed the farm operation’s agricultural production and, as a result, such production does not produce an average gross sales value of $10,000 or more.

(o) Newly established farm operation generally means a commercial farm in its first or second year of operation that comprises not less than seven owned or rented acres used as a single operation for the production for sale of crops, livestock or livestock products of an annual gross sales value of $10,000 or more. Such a newly established farm operation may not be owned or controlled by the owners of a previous farm operation that used the same land for commercial farming. A newly established farm operation may also include:

1. (1) a commercial farm consisting of less than seven acres of land used as a single operation that in its first or second year of farming produced for sale crops, livestock or livestock products of an average gross sales value of $50,000 or more;
2. (2) a commercial horse boarding operation supported by not less than seven acres that in its first or second year produced annual gross receipts from boarding horses and/or from the sale of crops, livestock and livestock products in the amount of $10,000 or more;
3. (3) a single commercial farm operation of not less than seven acres used solely to plant a new orchard or vineyard, regardless of whether the new orchard or vineyard produces fruit for sale for four years following planting; or

4. (4) a single commercial farm operation of not less than seven acres used solely to plant Christmas trees that will be made available for sale, regardless of whether the Christmas trees are sold for five years after planting.

   An otherwise qualified, newly established commercial farm operation may also receive an agricultural assessment for land situated under a structure within which crops, livestock or livestock products are produced for sale, provided that the aforementioned agricultural products have an annual gross sales value of $10,000 or more, if the farm operation uses seven or more acres in agricultural production, or have an annual gross sales value of $50,000 or more, if the farm operation uses less than seven acres in agricultural production.

(v) Qualified rented land means land of an owner-applicant for an agricultural assessment and rented to another person, where:

1. (1) the land otherwise satisfies the requirements for eligibility for an agricultural assessment; or
2. (2) the land consists of not less than seven acres used as a single operation for the production for sale of crops, livestock or livestock products, exclusive of woodland products, which does not independently satisfy the gross sales value requirement, where such land was used in such production for the preceding two years and currently is being so used under a written rental arrangement of five or more years in conjunction with land which qualifies for an agricultural assessment.

(af) Support land means land constituting a portion of a parcel, as identified on an assessment roll, which also contains land qualified for an agricultural assessment, where such land is not actually being used to produce crops, livestock, livestock products or woodland products for sale, but is being used in support of a farm operation or in support of land used in agricultural production (examples include, but are not limited to, farm ponds, swamps used for drainage, land used for erosion control, hedgerows, access roads, land under farm buildings, dikes and levees used for flood protection, drainage ditches and land used for farm waste management). Support land also includes any other land, constituting a minor portion of such parcel, that is spatially integrated within the portion of the farm operation actually used to produce crops, livestock or livestock products for sale, where such land is not qualified farm woodland or nonagricultural land. Support land further includes land used to support an apiary products operation which is owned by the operation and consists of:

1. (1) not less than seven nor more than 10 acres used as a single operation in the preceding two years for the production for sale of crops, livestock or livestock products of an average gross sales value of $10,000 or more; or
2. (2) less than seven acres used as a single operation in the preceding two years for the production for sale of crops, livestock or livestock products of an average gross sales value of $50,000 or more. The land used to support an apiary products operation shall include, but not be limited to, the land under a structure within which apiary products are produced, harvested and stored for sale; and a buffer area maintained by the operation between the operation and adjacent landowners.