[AT] Should Farming Be A Right?

[David Bruce]

We had one issue years ago when a local farmer set up a hog operation 
and was placing the manure slurry on row crop fields. Created quite a 
stench for a few days every year. Later he was found to be allowing the 
slurry to get into a local creek - at that point he and DENR came to a 
settlement - no more hog operation.

We are just far enough off the travel lanes to reduce the development 
pressure and the fact that landowners here so far have not sold. A 50+ 
acre farm just over the ridge from me is up for sale as the owner died a 
few months ago. I'm expecting someone of the horsey set to purchase.

David
NW NC

On 9/11/2014 4:59 PM, charlie hill wrote:
> I forgot to say in my post about the hog farm that it was NOT
> a corporate farm.  It was owned by two brothers.
>
> Charlie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Bruce
> Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 3:20 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: Re: [AT] Should Farming Be A Right?
>
> We had a similar issue here in Yadkin County a few years ago.  A small
> subdivision was built just about the flood plain of the Yadkin River
> (near the Forsyth County water treatment plant that Charlie knows.
> Across the road from this subdivision are several small business
> operations. One had out grown their facilities and wished to build an
> office building on the other side of the road which was almost adjacent
> to the subdivision. Of course there was a huge hue and cry "not in my
> backyard". This was for a rather small office building. After about a
> year of infighting the building permit was issued.
>
> So far in my community there is not much of such in part because the
> farmers but as some of the farm families die off I suspect we will have
> those battles.
>
> David
> NW NC
>
> On 9/11/2014 2:37 PM, charlie hill wrote:
>> We have a problem in NC with longstanding livestock farms way out in the
>> county
>> then over time the town spreads out to them.  The next farm over is sold
>> to
>> a developer
>> who builds houses that get sold to folks who retire here.  The almost
>> immediately try
>> to force the livestock farm to shut down even though it's been there for
>> 40
>> years and there
>> is no place that the owner can move it to.   The same thing happens with
>> crop farmers.
>> Subdivisions move in next door and the home owners start filing nuisance
>> law
>> suits because
>> the farmer has the audacity to spray his crops with pesticides and
>> herbicides.   Luckily
>> NC already has fairly strong freedom to farm statutes on the books but the
>> outsiders keep
>> trying to stop them from farming.  They even get themselves elected to
>> town
>> and county
>> boards and try to pass zoning laws to put the farmers out of business.  I
>> guess they never
>> stop to wonder where their food comes from.
>>
>> Someone tell me please why folks from the city move to the country because
>> they claim
>> to love the rural lifestyle and then immediately start trying to turn it
>> into the city!!!!
>>
>> Charlie
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: John Slavin
>> Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 1:19 PM
>> To: at at lists.antique-tractor.com
>> Subject: Re: [AT] Should Farming Be A Right?
>>
>>> As the article mentioned, right to farm laws are on the books in all 50
>>> states and mean different things in different states.  I think what's
>>> novel and interesting in your example is they are trying to put it in the
>>> state constitution.  Seems unnecessary but maybe a lawyer here can tell
>>> us
>>> why a right to farm amendment is stronger than right to farm legislation.
>> Makes it stronger.  Statutes conflict with each all the time, and it's
>> left
>> to judges to sort how to interpret them together.  When you put a law in
>> the
>> constitution, it trumps statutes.  So say, for example you have a statute
>> that says you can't have a nuisance, ie, smelly farm, but you have a
>> constitutional provision that say you have an absolute right to farm. The
>> argument can be made, and I think successfully, that the constitution
>> trumps
>> the statute.  Also would apply to state DNR regulations.  The only
>> limitation to this law will be other constitutional provision or federal
>> law
>> (Federal law, even statutes and EPA regulations trump state law under the
>> theory of federal preemption).  But it will stop neighbors to hog
>> confinements from filing nuisance suits.
>>
>> John
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