The Mower County Board by a 4-1 vote Thursday OK’d a conditional 15-year tax abatement for a John Deere dealer planning to consolidate three of its locations and its Rochester business office into a new facility in Grand Meadow.

To keep the full abatement — estimated at a value of $26,000 annually — SEMA Equipment must maintain a workforce of 40 full-time employees for the first 10 years and then 50 for the final five years. The company also must meet other  conditions based on its own growth estimates.

The county will still collect property taxes on the land equal to what it is today.  The abatement means the company would not pay taxes on the value added to the property by the new facility for the next 15 years.