House Bill 855 - Agricultural Relief Act

• Allows up to $50,000 deduction of income derived from agricultural land for state income tax purposes for taxable years 2019-2020.

• Reduces minimum acreage requirements for agricultural land classification from 10 to 5 acres, horticultural land from 5 to 3 acres, and forestland from 20 to 10 acres, effective July 1, 2019.

• Expands industrial hemp cultivation license eligibility to applicants with no drug-related or controlled substance felony convictions in the 10 years prior to application.

• Appropriates $200,000 to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University for truffle production research to reduce production time and costs.

• Establishes the North Carolina Truffle Cultivation Grant Fund with $300,000 in appropriations, offering up to $10,000 matching grants per eligible farmer for new truffle orchard establishment.