A bill that aims to close a loophole is upsetting some local farmers. They say, while it may solve one problem, there could be many more issues on the horizon should this bill become law.

Right now, you can qualify for a lower agriculture property tax rate by simply cutting hay on your land. The law also covers people like Tom Cruise. For big tax breaks, Cruise allows livestock to graze on his property in Telluride.

But those running a business on their land say the bill could inadvertently hurt them.

Donovan Talbott owns C&R Farms on East Orchard Mesa. He grows peaches, apricots cherries, nectarines, apples and pears. Talbott's family has about 150 acres of live trees.

While they have made a legitimate business out of their land, the new bill aims at weeding out those who haven't.

"I have some skepticism. There may be some unintended consequences for small farmers," Mesa County's Deputy Assessor, Brent Goff said.

Goff says the bill will make it harder to assess land correctly because the county's land is so diverse. In turn, this would make it hard to collect the right amount of taxes.

"It takes the control away from the local assessor and puts it on the property tax administrator in Denver," he said.

Talbott believes the bill could put more pressure on his farm.

"Agriculture as a whole doesn't need to be taxed, we've already had a pesticide tax put on us as of last year to overcome the budget short fall," Talbott said.

Talbott says he's against this proposed bill because whether or not his produce grows, he still has to pay.

"We're in a very high risk business anyway, we can have spring frost or winter kill. So obviously if you are assessing more taxes, those taxes don't go away if we lose our crop," he said. "Basically if we lose our crop and don't have the money to pay it, it's an economic impact for the valley."

Something that the deputy assessor worries would spark a lot of objection.

"A lot of protests, angry taxpayers when they get a higher assessment and they're not happy," Goff said.

KJCT News 8 tried to get a hold of Tom Massey, the representative behind the bill, but we never heard back.

Deputy assessor Goff says he thinks this bill has a pretty good chance of passing.

To find out what celebrities benefit from current tax breaks, check out our other story here