by Jamie Clover Adams,
Director, MI Department of Agriculture & Rural Development
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Recent changes to the voluntary
set of guidelines used to support the state’s Right to Farm Act have created
a maelstrom of misunderstanding and misinformation about what the law does
and does not do, including what protections it may or may not afford
Michigan’s farming community. That misunderstanding continues to be amplified
by social media reports which vastly misrepresent the facts and the potential
impacts, especially as it relates to small and urban farmers.
Since the beginning, the Right
to Farm Act has been specific to commercial agriculture, both small and
large. Raising chickens or other food for your own family’s consumption
has never been within the scope of the Right to Farm Act and that has not
changed.
The Right to Farm Act is still
in place and remains unchanged – it was not repealed as some have alleged in
their reporting. So, what has changed?
The Right to Farm Act is a
state law created in 1981 to address urban encroachment into rural areas
because the folks moving into the country didn’t like the smells, sounds,
dirt, etc. that come with agriculture and farming practices. The Act provides
an affirmative defense to nuisance lawsuits if farmers are in conformance
with the relevant Generally Accepted Agricultural Management Practice (GAAMP)
standards. It’s important to remember that the Right to Farm Act has never
provided blanket permission to locate farm animals in every corner of
Michigan. The Livestock Site Selection GAAMP places conditions on the
location of farm animals to reduce the risk of nuisance complaints. The
difference over the past few years is that individuals are bringing farm
animals into existing, primarily residential areas increasing the potential
for conflict and nuisance complaints.
The Michigan Commission of
Agriculture and Rural Development made revisions to the Livestock Site
Selection GAAMP adding Category 4 sites, which are locations that are
primarily residential, don’t allow agricultural uses by right and are,
therefore, not suitable for farm animals for purposes of the Right to Farm
Act. Under the Livestock Site Selection GAAMP, primarily residential areas
are sites with more than 13 non-farm homes within an eighth of a mile of the
livestock facility or one non-farm home within 250 feet of the livestock
facility. However, local communities can decide to allow farm animals under
these circumstances.
This decision was not made in
haste. The Commission took hours of public testimony, held a number of
meetings and has been looking into this issue for several years. In
recent years, there has been increased interest in having a small number of
livestock in non-rural areas. While more than 40 communities in Michigan have
ordinances allowing for the keeping of livestock in non-rural residential
areas, many do not, resulting in increased conflict between municipalities
and livestock owners in these areas.
MDARD continues to support the
expansion of urban agriculture and livestock production across the state, but
has consistently said the expansion of agriculture into urban and suburban
settings must be done in a way that makes sense for community residents, as
well as the overall care of farm animals and livestock.
I encourage folks to contact
their municipalities to encourage agriculture in their communities. MDARD is
currently working with the City of Detroit as they draft a livestock
ordinance that could be used as a model for other municipalities. Our staff
are out every day helping livestock producers site their facilities in
conformance to GAAMPs to reduce nuisance risks. Staff work hard to help
resolve conflicts between neighbors over nuisance issues to help them avoid
going to court.
Again, the GAAMPs are voluntary
– not regulatory. MDARD has no enforcement authority. Nuisance protection
under the Right to Farm Act is, continues to be, and always has been
something that’s determined by a judge – not the Commission of Agriculture
and Rural Development or MDARD.
For more information on this
topic, visit www.michigan.gov/righttofarm
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