HOW MANY ACRES FOR AN AG EXEMPTION? SIX NORTH TEXAS COUNTIES, ONE TABLE

By Cody Inman. Published September 18, 2026. Last updated: September 24, 2026.

Texas has no statewide minimum acreage for a 1-d-1 open space agricultural valuation, except beekeeping, which state law caps between 5 and 20 acres. Each county appraisal district sets its own degree of intensity standard, and that standard creates the real minimum. Parker County Appraisal District, for example, requires 5 acres of improved pasture or 10 acres of native pasture.

Here is the part the listing flyer leaves out: the words "ag exempt" on a tract in Weatherford, Granbury, or Decatur describe what the last owner did, not what you get. The valuation rides on the use. The use rides on you.

Why does "minimum acreage" for an ag exemption differ in every Texas county?

There is no such thing as an ag exemption in Texas. What exists is a special appraisal under Texas Tax Code Chapter 23, Subchapter D, usually called 1-d-1 open space valuation. The land is taxed on what it can produce instead of what it would sell for.

To qualify, the Texas Comptroller requires that land be currently devoted principally to agricultural use, that the use meet "the degree of intensity generally accepted in the area," and that the land have been in agricultural use for at least five of the preceding seven years (Texas Comptroller, Special Appraisal, accessed September 2026). Each chief appraiser translates that phrase into stocking rates, hive counts, hay cuttings, and practical acreage floors, on the advice of the district's agricultural advisory board, which advises on the standards and does not set them (PPAD, 2026 Open Space 1-d-1 Manual). Treatment of the homesite and other non-agricultural acreage varies by district: some carve out a stated acreage, others apply tract-specific or primary-use rules.

How many acres do you need for an ag exemption in Parker, Hood, Palo Pinto, Wise, Jack, and Erath counties?

Every figure below comes from the appraisal district's own published guideline, with its revision date. Standards can change, so confirm the current district guideline before relying on these figures. Jack County's cattle minimum moved from 15 acres in its 2022 guidelines to 10 acres in its 2026 packet.

*Under 34 Texas Administrative Code Section 9.2005(b), a tract whose acreage equals or exceeds its acreage on January 1 of the preceding tax year is not subject to the wildlife use requirement. The county figure applies when the tract has been reduced in size. Land partitioned out of a larger qualified tract since the previous tax year is subject to the county minimum, and that is the situation most buyers are in.

In Parker County, the Agricultural Advisory Board sets 5 acres as the minimum for improved pasture (anything seeded or planted: coastal, sudan, wheat, oats), 10 acres for native pasture, 3 acres for an orchard at 20 trees per acre, and 20 acres for wildlife management. Parker County's stocking guideline is one mature cow per 8 to 10 native acres or 2 to 3 improved acres, and one horse per 10 to 12 native or 3 to 4 improved acres, adjusted by soil type. Parker County expects native hay ground to yield half to one round bale per acre and improved ground 2.5 to 3.5 over 3 to 4 cuttings (PCAD, Agricultural Valuation, updated September 27, 2024).

In Hood County, the degree of intensity is one animal unit per 15 acres of native pasture and one per 5 acres of improved grass. Hood County carves out 1 to 2 acres for the homesite, caps the homestead portion at 20 acres, and publishes no flat minimum, though a stand-alone tract is expected to meet typical minimums. Hood County hay must be plowed, fertilized, cut, baled, hauled, and marketable, at 2 to 3 cuttings a year (Hood CAD, Degree of Intensity Requirements, revised January 19, 2024).

In Palo Pinto County, the appraisal district's manual sets practical minimums of 20 acres for large animals, 10 acres for small animals, 10 acres for hay, 5 acres of pecans at 25 trees per acre, 5 acres of fruit trees at 70 trees per acre, and 5 acres for truck farming and berries, with minimum head counts of 4 cattle, 12 sheep or goats, or 2 adult equine. Palo Pinto County publishes no acres-per-animal-unit stocking rate. It lists instead the typical acreage needed to carry the minimum head count: 20 acres improved, 40 native, 60 barren, and it publishes no wildlife-specific acreage floor. The manual also states that its minimum standards are a guideline only and that applications below them are considered case by case (PPAD, 2026 Open Space 1-d-1 Manual, cover year 2026, supplied by the district). Palo Pinto County's beekeeping standard is 6 colonies on the first 5 acres plus 1 hive per additional 2.5 acres, reaching 12 at 20 acres, and the district typically holds out 1 acre on homesteaded property (PPAD, Bee Keeping Appraisal Manual, no stated revision date).

In Wise County, the district requires at least 5.01 acres unimproved or at least 6.01 acres improved, with no more than one acre under structures, in effect since January 1, 2012. Wise County's stocking rate is one animal unit per 5 to 10 improved acres and one per 15 to 25 native acres, with a minimum of 2 animal units. Wise County wildlife management requires 14.30 acres for an individual tract, 12.50 inside a wildlife association, and 11.10 when the target species is threatened or endangered (WCAD, 2024 Guidelines and Standards).

In Jack County, the appraisal district's 2026 packet sets practical minimums of 10 acres for cattle, 10 acres for wheat, oats, grain sorghum, or hay at two bales per acre and at least 10 bales produced, 5 acres for sheep and goats, 5 acres for orchards at 15 trees per acre, 5 to 20 acres for bees, and either 5 animals or 50 acres for horses, with 1 acre carved out for the homesite. Jack County publishes one cattle stocking rate, 1 animal unit per 10 to 15 acres, that covers both native and improved pasture. Sheep and goats are capped at 3 animal units per acre. Beekeeping follows a published table: 6 hives at 5 acres, 7 at 7.5, 8 at 10, 9 at 12.5, 10 at 15, 11 at 17.5, and 12 at 20. Jack County publishes no wildlife management minimum acreage (Jack CAD, Ag Qualification and Guidelines, 2026 Ag Info Packet, updated January 2026).

In Erath County, the appraisal district's board-approved standard sets a practical minimum of 5 acres excluding the house-site, with use-specific floors: 20 acres of improved pasture or 40 acres of native pasture to carry the 2 animal unit minimum, 10 acres or more for hay, and 5 acres or more for orchards and tree farms. Erath County's stocking rate is one animal unit per 10 improved acres and one per 20 native acres. Beekeeping runs 4 active hives at 5 acres, 7 at 10, 10 at 15, and 12 at 20. Erath County publishes no numeric homesite carve-out and no wildlife-specific acreage floor; its wildlife section applies the general 5 acre and 2 animal unit tests (Erath CAD, Agricultural Intensity Standards, board-approved November 4, 2025).

On wildlife management, four of the six districts publish no minimum acreage. Parker County publishes 20 acres (PCAD, updated September 27, 2024). Wise County publishes 14.30, 12.50, and 11.10 acre thresholds (WCAD, 2024). An existing qualified 15 acre tract in Parker County can convert to wildlife management. Fifteen acres cut off a qualified 60 last year cannot.

Native pasture rates, side by side: Parker County figures 8 to 10 acres per cow, Jack County 10 to 15 on its single cattle rate, Hood County 15, Erath County 20, Wise County 15 to 25. Same cow, five counties in the same corner of Texas. That is the standard describing the ground it appraises.

The Inman Group publishes the degree of intensity standards for Parker, Hood, Palo Pinto, Wise, Jack, and Erath counties side by side here at Inman Insights so a buyer can compare them before the option period runs out, not after.

Does a horse property qualify for an ag exemption in Texas?

Hood Central Appraisal District has gotten specific. Land used for pleasure, show, or sport horses, boarding, riding stables, racetracks, veterinary clinics, commercial arenas, training facilities for sport or pleasure horses, non-breeding racing stables, dude ranches, lodges, and hunting operations is not agricultural use in Hood County. What qualifies: raising, breeding, and grazing horses, breeding facilities, stud farms, and training facilities for horses that will be sold (Hood CAD, revised January 19, 2024).

Wise County Appraisal District requires a minimum of 2 equine animals, permanent fencing that provides confinement, and does not count arenas or training facilities toward minimum acreage (WCAD, 2024). Jack County Appraisal District requires either 5 horses or 50 acres (Jack CAD, 2026 Ag Info Packet). Palo Pinto Appraisal District sets 2 adult head (PPAD, 2026 Open Space 1-d-1 Manual). A 15 acre place in Cresson with a covered arena, a six-stall barn, and two show horses is a horse property. It is not, in Hood County's words, an agricultural use.

Does the ag exemption transfer when I buy land in Texas?

Sometimes. Texas Tax Code Section 23.54(e) requires a new 1-d-1 application when ownership changes, and Section 23.54(e-1) has long excused a transfer to the former owner's surviving spouse. House Bill 1244 (Acts 2025, 89th Legislature, Chapter 118, effective January 1, 2026) added a second route: ownership is not considered to have changed if the new owner uses the land in materially the same way the former owner did and the same individuals oversee or conduct that use (HB 1244, enrolled, capitol.texas.gov).

The same bill added Section 23.541(a-2). A new owner who meets those two tests but misses April 30 can still file, the chief appraiser must accept the application as late as the later of the delinquency date or the first anniversary of the transfer, and no 10 percent late penalty applies. Every other new owner files by April 30 on Comptroller Form 50-129, or late with the 10 percent penalty under Section 23.541(b) until the roll certifies. Trailer the seller's cows off at closing and bring in your own, and the two tests fail. That is still how most new owners learn what "ag exempt" meant.

Two things ride with the dirt regardless. The five of seven year history stays with the land, so you inherit the seller's history. And deferred rollback liability follows the property. Wise County adds an obligation most buyers never hear about: the owner must notify the district in writing by May 1 when eligibility ends or the category changes, and failing to notify carries its own penalty (WCAD, 2024). What Jack, Parker, and Palo Pinto counties still publish about reapplying is in our guide to the ag exemption transfer rule after HB 1244.

What it costs you to get this wrong

• You change the operation and never file. Bring in your own cattle, drop the seller's operator, and the HB 1244 continuity tests fail. Without a new application by April 30, or a late one with the 10 percent penalty before the roll certifies, the year is billed at market value.
• You inherit a rollback the seller caused. Seller subdivided or built two years before listing and the district has not caught it yet. Under TREC Form 25-17 Paragraph 13B that is the seller's obligation and it survives closing, but collecting it after the seller has moved to Colorado is your problem.
• You build on the wrong acre. Wise County will not count the acre under your house and shop. Hood County carves out 1 to 2. Jack County carves out 1. Parker County calls a sub-5-acre tract with a house residential. On 6 or 7 acres in Boyd or Acton, the homesite alone can drop you under the floor.
• You trust the word "exempt." Nothing is bolted to the fence. The valuation belongs to the use, the use belongs to the owner, and the owner is about to be you.

Frequently asked questions

How many acres do you need for an ag exemption in Parker County, Texas?

Parker County Appraisal District sets 5 acres for improved pasture, 10 acres for native pasture, 3 acres for orchards, 5 to 20 acres for beekeeping, and 20 acres for wildlife management. Stocking runs one mature cow per 8 to 10 native acres or 2 to 3 improved acres, per PCAD's guideline updated September 27, 2024.

How many acres do you need for an ag exemption in Hood County, Texas?

Hood Central Appraisal District publishes no flat acreage minimum. A property of any size can qualify if used with a larger contiguous property; a stand-alone tract should meet typical acreage minimums. Stocking is one animal unit per 15 native or 5 improved acres, per the standard revised January 19, 2024.

How many acres do you need for an ag exemption in Palo Pinto County, Texas?

Palo Pinto Appraisal District sets 20 acres for large animals, 10 acres for small animals, 10 acres for hay, and 5 acres for orchards, with a minimum of 4 head and typically 1 acre held out as homesite, per the 2026 Open Space 1-d-1 Manual and Bee Keeping Appraisal Manual.

How many acres do you need for an ag exemption in Wise County, Texas?

Wise County Appraisal District requires at least 5.01 acres unimproved or 6.01 acres improved, with no more than one acre under structures, and a minimum of 2 animal units. Stocking is one animal unit per 5 to 10 improved acres or 15 to 25 native acres, per WCAD's 2024 guidelines.

How many acres do you need for an ag exemption in Jack County, Texas?

Jack County Appraisal District sets 10 acres for cattle, 10 for farming and hay, 5 for sheep, goats, or orchards, and 5 animals or 50 acres for horses, with a 1 acre homesite carve-out. Cattle stocking is one animal unit per 10 to 15 acres, per the 2026 Ag Info Packet updated January 2026.

How many acres do you need for an ag exemption in Erath County, Texas?

Erath County Appraisal District sets a practical minimum of 5 acres excluding the house-site, with 20 acres of improved pasture or 40 acres of native pasture required to carry its 2 animal unit minimum. Stocking is one animal unit per 10 improved acres or 20 native acres, per the standard board-approved November 4, 2025.

Does an ag exemption transfer to the new owner in Texas?

Ownership is not treated as changed if the land passes to a surviving spouse, or, since January 1, 2026 under House Bill 1244, if the new owner continues materially the same use overseen by the same individuals. Otherwise Tax Code Section 23.54(e) requires a new 1-d-1 application by April 30.

Does buying ag exempt land trigger a rollback tax?

No. A sale alone does not trigger a rollback under Texas Tax Code Section 23.55; a change to non-agricultural use does. What counts as a change, who pays, and a real Parker County total are in our guide to what triggers a rollback tax in Texas.

Before you write a contract on a tract in Parker, Hood, Palo Pinto, Wise, Jack, or Erath County, someone should pull the appraisal district account, read the productivity value against the market value, and match the current use to the district's own intensity standard. That is part of how we look at every acreage listing we take and every one we show a buyer. If you already own one and are not sure where it stands, ask us to pull the account.

Not tax or legal advice. Confirm your tract with the county appraisal district and a Texas property tax professional or attorney.

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