How It Works

If you own 5 to 20 acres of qualifying land (not including your homestead), you may be eligible for this tax-saving valuation by keeping bees on your property. Instead of being taxed on your land’s market value, you’re taxed based on its productive agricultural use — which can lead to significant savings.

If you don’t already have this valuation in place, you’ll need to show five years of consistent ag use before you start seeing those tax benefits. That’s where we come in.

A Simple Solution: Bee Leasing

At Sister Creek Hives, we offer a turnkey bee leasing program — perfect for landowners who want the benefits of an ag valuation without taking on the work of beekeeping.

We provide:

• Professionally managed hives placed on your land

• Ongoing hive maintenance and care

• All the documentation you need for your ag valuation application

• A worry-free way to meet your county’s ag use requirements

Why Choose Bees?

For Landowners:

• Get access to 1-D-1 Ag Valuation tax savings

• Keep using your land — bees don’t need fencing or heavy equipment

• Enjoy natural pollination of crops, plants, and trees

• No beekeeping experience needed — we manage everything

• Ideal for those who travel or don’t want the day-to-day upkeep

For the Bees (and Us):

• Access to new, diverse forage sources

• Better hive distribution to reduce risks

• Room to expand our local beekeeping operation

• Stronger, healthier colonies

Keep Your Land Working — and Saving

If a property’s ag valuation is lost, owners may face 3–5 years of rollback taxes, plus interest — which can be a heavy financial hit. We help landowners avoid that by making ag use simple and sustainable through our bee leasing program.

We'll handle the setup, hive care, and paperwork — you get peace of mind and lower property taxes.

Let’s Talk Bees & Land

Before placing any hives, we begin with a site consultation — an on-site visit to determine the best placement for your hives and a suitable water source for the bees. We also conduct a preliminary plant identification to assess forage availability and offer personalized recommendations for native plantings that will support pollinators year-round.

This step ensures your property is not only eligible but optimized for long-term hive health and ag valuation success.

We’d love to hear about your property and see if bee leasing is the right fit. Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to maintain an existing valuation, we’re here to help.