Minnesota Stable Owners Association
Good News
We need your help!
To improve conditions for equine businesses in Minnesota.
To enable grassroots participation in public policy.
To educate about the importance of horses in agriculture.
Kelly honors Allison for doing a great service for the Minnesota Stable Owners
We did it through the power of organization
Read this below from Allison
Equine business interests score with passage of legislation protecting agricultural classification for horse boarding property
Our bill was added to the omnibus tax bill, HF 3729, and was signed into law on May 27, 2010. Minn. Stat. 273.13 Subd. 23(i) containing the list of agricultural products qualifying property of 10 acres or more for agricultural classification is amended to read:
(3) the commercial boarding of horses, which may include related horse training and riding instruction, if the boarding is done on property that is also used for raising pasture to graze horses or raising or cultivating other agricultural products as defined in clause
These changes are effective for the assessment year 2010 for taxes payable in 2011.
Many thanks are in order to recognize the teamwork required to change a law. The Minnesota Horse Council sponsored this effort with insight from Dan Ramberg, owner of Woodloch Stables in Hugo and author of the original legislation granting agricultural classification to horse boarding stables 15 years ago. Sen. Ray Vandeveer and Rep. Bob Dettmer carried our bills in the Senate and House. The Minnesota Stable Owners Association, which formed early this year in part because of the property tax classification problem, rallied members to call their legislators and speak up on behalf of equine business interests. And the Department of Revenue, which had been criticized for failing to ensure statewide uniformity, coordinated a thorough statewide study that facilitated a constructive and ultimately successful dialogue about the proper place of equestrian property within the framework of Minnesota's agricultural property tax policy. Thanks to everyone for helping make this happen.
Stay tuned for more information about the impact of this new legislation on Green Acres eligibility for equestrian property as well as newly passed legislation amending the State agricultural code to include a definition of horses as livestock. And don't forget to thank the Minnesota Horse Council for recognizing and addressing the need for legislative change. We have demonstrated that equine business conditions can be improved and real change can happen when we work together toward a common goal and dedicate the time and attention required to follow through.
Legislation is changing - Do you know how it will impact you?
Horse boarding bill 'laid aside' at hearing pub 4/6/10
Fixing Horse Boarding Property Tax Classification
Grazable acres ordinance passes on 3-2 vote pub 3/9/10
Technical issues delay vote on new horse ordinance
Tax classification remains agricultural for most horse operations
Area legislators support bills protecting equine interests
Membership Information
Minnesota Stable Owners Association has three categories of membership:
$50 Regular
$25 for Associates
$75 for Sponsoring
Regular Members are stable owners. They are entitled to vote in elections of the
association and are the organization’s core constituency.
Associate Members are individual supporters of the organization’s mission. They
have all the rights of Regular Members except the right to vote. They are important
to the organization because, as boarders and horse enthusiasts, they may come from
urban or other areas that do not have many stables. They can tell their elected
representatives about the importance of horses in agriculture and have a persuasive
impact on legislators who might not otherwise believe our issues matter.
Sponsoring Members are businesses that support the organization’s mission. They
have all the rights of Regular Members except the right to vote, plus they are
entitled to be identified as Sponsoring Members in any of the organization’s
educational and promotional literature. This is intended to mutually benefit stable
owners and other agricultural or related businesses by demonstrating the
integration and interdependency of equine businesses in the agricultural economy.
Education and Advocacy
Minnesota Stable Owners Association(MNSOA) will provide grassroots information and policy concerns to the Minnesota Horse Council for representation of equine business interests at the Capitol and in other government relations.
MNSOA will also allow Regular Members to form local chapters of the association for more effective advocacy with counties and other local government on issues specific to each community, and to provide reports to the association on issues of local concern.
Promotion of Equine Businesses-Get Involved!
Minnesota Stable Owners Association will strive to improve communication and familiarity among equine and other agricultural businesses statewide as well as in local communities, and to improve business conditions by facilitating greater awareness of business opportunities amid rapidly changing market and government regulatory conditions. Examples of what MSOA and its members can do:
- Partner with publications (such as Stillwater Living) to advertise events such
as a “Parade of Barns” to showcase equine facilities and programs in a given
community. - Grow the horse industry by generating more customers who may be new to
the horse world—ie, parents of horse‐crazy children—by organizing local
events of public interest. - Increase business loyalty and purchasing power by strengthening
relationships between equine and other integral businesses (veterinary
services, truck and trailer sales, professional services, etc.) - Communicate interests and specific concerns of stable owners to government
agencies over areas of dispute or misunderstanding (ie, MNDOT’s
enforcement of Federal vs. State requirements for farm transportation
permits and exemptions, or “grazeable acres” definition dispute in Grant.)
How to Join
Send a membership application and appropriate membership fee to:
Minnesota Stable Owners Association
P.O. Box 24
Stillwater, MN 55082
Minnesota Stable Owners Association encourages concurrent membership with the Minnesota Horse Council.
MNSOA relies on MHC’s lobbying efforts on behalf of the equine industry, and MHC
relies on information provided by MSOA about local equine business concerns.
Please send your membership fee and application to:
Minnesota Horse Council
P.O. Box 223
Plato, MN 55370
Visit www.mnhorsecouncil.org for more information.