AUGUSTA (AP) – A task force that’s examining Maine’s dairy industry is suggesting a change in tax policy that responds to instability that leaves many farmers open to selling their land to developers.

A state program currently allows dairy farmers to have their land taxed as farms if they commit to staying in farming. The present program assesses penalties on farmers who sell their land.

The Governor’s Task Force on the Sustainability of the Dairy Industry is recommending a constitutional change that would make sure that farmland is assessed and taxed for its current use.

“It makes common sense,” said Dale Cole, who farms 250 acres in Sidney. “You have to tax it at what it is.”

Cole said Maine’s dairy industry is now so unstable that the program is no longer a viable option for everyone.

The task force is expected to present its report Tuesday. The tax recommendation is among more than a dozen forwarded to Gov. John Baldacci.

An amendment would be needed to change the standing policy.

because Maine’s Constitution says all properties must be taxed based on the highest and best use. In parts of the state pressured by sprawl, land for housing developments is several times more valuable than pastures or potato fields.

To amend the Constitution, the Legislature would have to support the measure with a two-thirds vote. It would then go to the voters.

Farmers haven’t signed up for the existing state program because they fear the penalties and face an uncertain future, said Evan Richert, a task force member, former state planning director and associate research professor at the Muskie School of Public Policy.

Farmers “just don’t know how much longer they can hold out. They don’t want to join a program that binds their hands,” Richert said.

Farmers also argue that it’s not fair for them to be penalized if they sell their land. By the time the sale goes through, people who love open space, hunters and all-terrain vehicle riders have spent years enjoying the land, Cole said.

AP-ES-11-16-03 1316EST