Property type
Farms and ranches raise questions no residential parcel does. A corridor across an irrigated field can cost more in severed access and lost water delivery than the acreage itself is worth.
An appraisal that values farmland by the acre misses most of what a corridor does to a working operation. The land that remains may be the wrong shape for the equipment, cut off from the headgate, or too small to farm economically. California measures that loss as severance damages to the remainder under Code of Civil Procedure section 1263.410.
Orchards, vineyards and other permanent plantings are valued as part of the realty rather than as a crop. Removing them midcycle destroys years of establishment cost and future production, and the valuation should reflect the stage of the planting rather than a per acre land figure.
A farming operation is a business. Where a taking causes a loss of goodwill and the elements are met, Code of Civil Procedure section 1263.510 makes that loss compensable.
Transmission corridors, water conveyance, flood control, highway widenings and the Central Valley segment of the California High Speed Rail project all cross working farmland. The identity of the agency and the design of the project shape which questions above matter most.
Start with your situation
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Questions owners ask
Land value is only part of it. On a partial take, severance damages to the remainder often exceed the value of the acreage taken.
That is a severance damage question and usually a significant one. Document the delivery system as it exists before construction.
Permanent plantings are valued as part of the realty, taking account of the stage of establishment and remaining productive life.
It can. A farming operation is a business, and section 1263.510 applies where the statutory elements are met.
Next step
Review the questions that apply to your operation before the appraisal.