How many active hives are needed on 12.5 acres in Victoria County?

Victoria CAD's beekeeping table requires 9 active hives on 12.5 acres. The hives must be located on the property for at least 7 months of the year and be maintained and kept alive.

How many cow-calf pairs meet Victoria CAD's cattle minimum?

A cow with calf counts as 1.20 animal units, while the cattle operation minimum is 3 animal units on at least 20 acres. 3 ÷ 1.20 = 2.5, so an operation with whole cow-calf pairs needs at least 3 pairs (3 × 1.20 = 3.6 animal units), subject to CAD review.

What must a Victoria County property submit for wildlife management?

The property must have had agricultural appraisal in the previous year and, for land that has split, generally needs at least 16.60 acres. The owner must file a PWD-885 plan and a PWD 888 annual report every year describing the previous year's activities.

Victoria County, TX — Ag Exemption Requirements (2026)

Last verified 2026-07-13 · Source: Victoria Central Appraisal District official guidelines

Victoria County sits on the Coastal Plain around the city of Victoria, between the San Antonio–Houston corridor and the Gulf Coast. Victoria CAD's guidelines cover cattle, sheep, goats, breeding horses, hay, crops, orchards, and beekeeping; their explicit apiary table and livestock operation minimums give smaller landowners concrete thresholds to plan around.

Min. Acreage

1 ac

History Requirement

The land must have been devoted to a qualifying agricultural use for at least five of the past seven years.

Application Window

January 1 – April 30

CAD Phone

361-576-3621

Beekeeping Intensity Standards

Acreage Range	Base Hives	Extra Hives/Acre (above base)	Confidence
5–20 acres	6	0	✓ 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
cow dry	1	County-published
cow calf	1.2	County-published
bull mature	1.5	County-published
cattle 1 year old	0.7	County-published
cattle 2 years old	0.9	County-published
lamb 1 year old	0.15	County-published
sheep mature	0.2	County-published
kid 1 year old	0.12	County-published
goat mature	0.19	County-published
horse 1 yearling	0.78	County-published
horse over 2 years	1	County-published
horse over 3 years	1.25	County-published
donkey 1 yearling	0.78	County-published
donkey 1 to 2 years old	1	County-published
donkey 3 years old	1.25	County-published

Wildlife Management Option

Victoria County allows wildlife management as a qualifying use. Landowners must implement at least 0 of the seven recognized wildlife management practices defined by Texas Parks and Wildlife. An annual wildlife management plan report is required.

A written plan (PWD-885) is required. For land that has split, the Victoria CAD Board set a 16.60-acre minimum unless the property is part of a wildlife management property association or is TPWD-designated endangered-species habitat. Form PWD 888 (annual report) is required every year, and the property must have had agricultural appraisal the previous year to convert to wildlife management.