August/September 2013
Shady
Grove Farm in Gwinn, Mich., is owned by Randy and Libby Buchler. These
small-scale farmers are protected by the state’s Right to Farm act.
Farms that fit this bill turn out healthful food, guard against shortages, stabilize local economies and instill community camaraderie.
As suburbs spread steadily across our continent, however, small farmers are continually facing problems with local zoning codes and nuisance complaints, even when their operations have not caused any injury to their neighbors. Although state Right to Farm laws are sometimes written to protect Big Ag, Right to Farm laws that support small-scale farmers can be a key aspect of creating sustainable, local food systems.
Michigan is ahead of the curve when it comes to setting up legal protections for small-scale farmers, and the state’s Right to Farm laws are making a real difference.
Case in point: Randy and Libby Buchler of Shady Grove Farm, who raise chickens and sheep, and sell eggs and wool locally. Their 6.5-acre property is zoned as “Lake Residential.” In 2009, Forsyth Township in Michigan filed a lawsuit to shut down Shady Grove Farm, citing it as a nuisance because its existence violated the local zoning ordinance that prohibited any type of agricultural activity. In December 2012, however, a Michigan judge ruled that the Buchlers’ farming operations were protected by the Michigan Right to Farm Act (RTFA), and denied the township’s lawsuit.
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