Bexar County, TX — Ag Exemption Requirements (2026)
Bexar County contains San Antonio and stretches from the Edwards Plateau fringe into South Texas prairie, where urban growth borders working livestock, hay, crop, and apiary tracts. Bexar Central Appraisal District's current online standards are especially useful because grazing carrying capacity changes by both pasture and soil type, while smaller qualifying operations have distinct acreage and animal-unit thresholds.
Grazing Intensity Standards
| Pasture Type | Acres per Animal Unit | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Improved — soil type 1 | 4 acres / AU | ✓ Verified |
| Improved — soil type 2 | 5 acres / AU | ✓ Verified |
| Improved — soil type 3 | 6 acres / AU | ✓ Verified |
| Improved — soil type 4 | 10 acres / AU | ✓ Verified |
| Improved — soil type 5 | 10 acres / AU | ✓ Verified |
| Native — soil type 1 | 6.5 acres / AU | ✓ Verified |
| Native — soil type 2 | 7.5 acres / AU | ✓ Verified |
| Native — soil type 3 | 11.5 acres / AU | ✓ Verified |
| Native — soil type 4 | 15.5 acres / AU | ✓ Verified |
| Native — soil type 5 | 20 acres / AU | ✓ Verified |
Beekeeping Intensity Standards
| Acreage Range | Base Hives | Extra Hives/Acre (above base) | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5–20 acres | 4 | 0.4 | ✓ Verified |
Animal Unit Equivalencies
An animal unit (AU) is a standardized measure used to compare livestock of different sizes. One AU = one 1,000-lb cow. Your total stocking rate is calculated in AUs, then multiplied by the acres-per-AU standard for your pasture type. These values are published by the county.
| Animal | Animal Units | Source |
|---|---|---|
| beef cattle cow | 1 | County-published |
| stocker calf | 0.5 | County-published |
| horse | 1 | County-published |
| domestic sheep ewe | 0.1666666667 | County-published |
| spanish goat nanny | 0.1666666667 | County-published |
| boer x spanish goat nanny | 0.2 | County-published |
| angora goat nanny | 0.125 | County-published |
Wildlife Management Option
Bexar County allows wildlife management as a qualifying use. Landowners must implement at least 3 of the seven recognized wildlife management practices defined by Texas Parks and Wildlife. An annual wildlife management plan report is required.
The land must already have been qualified and appraised as agricultural land during the year before it changes to wildlife management use. An individual tract requires 14.3 acres; a wildlife management association tract requires 11.1 acres. The owner must perform at least three of seven statutory activities, submit an agricultural appraisal application and wildlife management plan, and file a Wildlife Management Annual Report by April 30th.
Required Documents
- Form 50-129, Application for 1-d-1 (Open-Space) Agricultural Use Appraisal
- Wildlife Management Plan, if applying for wildlife management
- Wildlife Management Annual Report, if approved for wildlife management
- Written lease, if a tract too small to meet the minimum livestock intensity standard is adjacent and leased to a larger qualified operation
Discretionary Caveats
"The law authorizes the chief appraiser to determine the local standard of intensity based on prevailing agricultural practices."
"Minimum acreage not stated in published document — confirm with CAD."
"For each operation, the published acreage requirement pertains only to acreage devoted to that operation."
Frequently Asked Questions — Bexar County
- Bexar CAD lists 6 acres per animal unit for improved pasture with soil type 3. Dividing 48 acres by 6 gives 8 animal units; because one beef cow equals one animal unit, that is 8 cows.
- Bexar CAD starts beekeeping at 4 hives on 5 acres and adds one hive for each additional 2.5 acres. Fifteen acres is 10 additional acres, or four 2.5-acre increments, so the requirement is 4 + 4 = 8 hives.
- Yes, Bexar CAD's goat standard is 3 animal units on 10 acres. That is 18 Spanish nanny goats (3 × 6 head per animal unit), 15 Boer × Spanish nanny goats (3 × 5), or 24 Angora nanny goats (3 × 8), subject to the other qualification requirements.
- The tract must have been appraised as agricultural land in the prior year, meet the 14.3-acre individual-tract minimum (or 11.1 acres in an association), carry out at least 3 of 7 wildlife practices, and file an agricultural appraisal application with a wildlife management plan. An annual wildlife report is then due by April 30.
Bexar Central Appraisal District
- Phone
- 210-242-2432
- cacomms@bcad.org
- Address
- P.O. Box 830248, San Antonio, TX 78283-0248
- Website
- https://www.bcad.org
Nearby Counties
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