Michigan Right to Farm Law, what does it mean?

[wingless]

Thanks Wingless, I assume that the Taylor/Norris article was published around 2007 (based on their reference to "Additional information can be obtained from the Norris and Taylor article, “Questions about Intent and Application of Michigan’s Right to Farm Act”, in the March 2007 issue of Planning and Zoning News. publication). Is there anything more recent? The Troy/Papadelis case was heard by the Michigan Supreme Court in DEC 2009 and the City of Troy appears to be putting much emphasis on that.

Yes, there is a more recent paper from October 2012, this time with Norris and co-author Schindler: http://lu.msue.msu.edu/pamphlet/Blaw/SelectedPlan&ZoneCourt RTFA 1964-2006.pdf

And of course even since then the Buchler case was decided (December 2012). That decision can be found on this page: http://sustainablefarmpolicy.org/the-courts/

Again, best of luck.

 

[wingless]

My family and I are researching about getting chickens. We have 2 acres of land. I do live in Brighton, MI and the township says we cannot have chickens. I did read the Right to Farm Act but am so confused (which sounds like it confuses most people). Can somebody please help me? I understand that we have to post a sign that says we sell eggs. What else do we have to do? I would really appreciate any help!! Thanks!!

Hi rattiegirl - and welcome to BYC.

Here is how I think about the distinction between ordinances and RTF with respect to keeping chickens. If you keep chickens as pets, then you have to follow local ordinances, or try to change them.

If you keep chickens as livestock and sell anything they produce (eggs, chicks, birds, feathers, manure), AND if you are willing to follow the GAAMPS (state defined Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management Practices) then the commercial part of your farming operation is protected by the Right to Farm Act, regardless of local ordinances.

None of this is as complicated as it sounds, and is not what makes RTF so confusing. The problem is that the state agency that administers Right to Farm - MDARD - fluctuates on the issue of whether the law applies to everyone in the state, or only to farming operations in rural areas. In the early 2000's, for example, MDA (as it was called then) supported RTF protection for farms like yours and mine in non-rural areas. By 2010, or so, when Keith Creagh was director, MDARD clearly implemented policies meant to deny RTF protection to non-rural residents, using non-legislative tactics. We have a new Director now, Jamie Clover Adams, and she is waiting for a formal opinion on the question from the Attorney General. Meanwhile, a court decision in Forsyth Township last December very clearly articulated the view that RTF does protect commercial, GAAMPS-compliant farming operations in residential areas, regardless of local ordinances.

In any case, the question for every wishful chicken-keeper in Michigan usually comes down to whether you want to fight for the right to keep chickens at the local level, by changing the ordinance, or at the state level, by claiming RTF protection. Changing ordinances is sometimes successful, but can take years, and is completely dependent on the willingness of the local unit of government to risk chickens in their communities - there is no authority outside of themselves on the issue. It is also a battle that has to be fought anew in every local jurisdiction in the state.

In contrast, because RTF is a state law, when we fight for that right we fight for the right of all of us to have small farming operations, wherever we are in Michigan. And, because there is a law already on the books, the authorities at the state level must weigh the issues we raise with respect to what the law actually says - so in this case there is another authority figure in the room, and it is the RTF law.

If you wish to claim RTF protection, here is what I would do, based on what I have learned from this thread and my own personal research; I am not a lawyer:

1. Establish that you are a commercial farming operation by selling eggs, chicks, birds, feathers, or manure. Advertise at your local feed store or on Craigslist, and keep records (like dated photos or copies of advertisements). Also keep receipts for anything you sell. Note that there is no minimum amount sold to qualify as commercial.
2. Prepare to follow the GAAMPS. These are long documents and it can be confusing to know exactly what applies to your operation, because none of us have been able to get a GAAMPS inspection from the state. However, I recently had a discussion with a MAEAP tech (MAEAP is even more rigorous than the GAAMPS), and what I learned from that is on post #1114 of this thread. That might also be a good place for you to start.
3. Educate the City of Brighton on your Right to Farm Protection, by providing them with the following documents:

• The Right to Farm Law: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdard/RTF_ACT-93-of-1981_379049_7.pdf
• The Norris and Taylor Land Use Tech Bulletin describing who is covered by the law: http://sustainablefarmpolicy.org/the-scholars/
• The most recent court case (Forsyth Township v Buchler) that establishes that RTF covers farming operations in non-rural areas, regardless of local ordinances: http://sustainablefarmpolicy.org/the-courts/

Best of luck!

 

[wingless]

Next week is Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) week at MSU. There is no RTF workshop from MDARD this year, but other events might be of interest: http://anrweek.canr.msu.edu/anrweek/home

 

[Mahalo]

Wendy, what is your advice for BYCers that dont have chickens yet but want to raise them for commercial purposes? do you recommend that they go to their local governments first or should they just start raising chickens (keeping the receipts) and wait for the local govt to come calling?

 

[wingless]

Wendy, what is your advice for BYCers that dont have chickens yet but want to raise them for commercial purposes? do you recommend that they go to their local governments first or should they just start raising chickens (keeping the receipts) and wait for the local govt to come calling?

This is a tricky question because there are so many different kinds of risks associated with either of the choices.

First, there is the question of whether it is actually legal to keep chickens when the ordinance says one thing and RTF says another. I have read every document I can find on the issue, and have asked MDARD both publicly and privately to point to the legal language or court decision that convinces them that I am not protected by RTF in my backyard lot. They have so far failed to do that. So I am personally convinced that there is no such hidden argument lurking out there, and that RTF does indeed protect all GAAMPS-compliant commercial farming operations, regardless of where that operation is sited, or how big it is.

Second, there is the question of whether or not we should keep chickens in urban or suburban areas - even if it is legal - if it creates a disturbance to our neighbors. I am very sympathetic to this argument, but I have now had hens since 2010 and a rooster since 2011, and it turns out they aren't at all disruptive to my neighborhood - at least so far, and I am working hard to keep it that way.

So for me it is easy to say that I would just start raising chickens, because I believe not only that having a commercial chicken operation in my backyard is legal, but also that it is not a nuisance. There just isn't a legal or a moral conflict for me. For others the matter is less clear.

Once you've taken the plunge to build a coop and start raising chickens, there are other risks. My city may come calling, for example, and I may have to go to court to prove that I am protected by RTF. Or perhaps I'll decide that chickens aren't worth the cost of a court case and I'll give them up. In this case, if I've invested a lot in a coop (which I have) then that investment will be lost.

This line of reasoning has convinced more than one person on this thread to discuss the RTF issue with their city before investing in a coop and in birds. Unfortunately, in the cases I know of, the city did not respond well to that approach, and those folks still don't have chickens. So there is also a very serious risk associated with the apparently rational choice of talking to your city first: the city may well fail to be convinced by the RTF argument, and will threaten the rational would-be chicken-keeper with very serious repercussions should they chose to go down that route.

That is a circuitous response to your plain question, but there really is no simple answer.

I would add, however, there is one other risk that I failed to recognize for a long time, because it is so familiar. When I look back at a lifetime lived in residential neighborhoods, it now seems that there is an unstated risk that the vast majority of us will live our whole lives in places that are so politely over-regulated that we lose our ability to be capable, knowledgeable, and resourceful. The best thing about having chickens isn't just watching them (amusing as they are), the best thing is figuring out where to place the coop given the constraints of the yard, and building it. And then, after the door is cut and the best roosting option lost, figuring out how to best salvage the effort. It is learning that one sick chicken in a small flock affects the whole social structure, which can't heal until the bird heals, or dies. It is learning that roosters are gentlemen. And that they demand respect, every day. And figuring out how to keep them warm in the winter, cool in the summer, dry in the spring. Safe from predators, day and night. Nourished and wormed. And on and on.

The point is that although each person has to calculate the risks for themselves, it is important to tally not just the risks of being a nuisance, or of going to court, or of losing an investment. I would suggest that it is also necessary to consider the risk of the alternative - of allowing ourselves to continue to live and raise our children in places where it is impolite to be capable, knowledgeable, and resourceful about something as simple as raising chickens. I think we can do better than that status quo, and we should.

 

[smittyG]

Just a thought, have you tried contacting an FFA or 4H office to get ideas from them! It's a huge undertaking! Might I suggest you start small! Keep in mind city dwellers live in urban areas cause they think of farming as stinky smells! See if you can get em to budge on animals that dont make a great deal of noise! Hens no roosters, rabbits! I think it'll be to hard for you to get anything bigger! Even where I live you need at least two acers for small live stock and 5 for large live stock. Small as goats and sheep and pigs. Lrg being Lamas horses, cows! I wish u all the best of luck with your urban farm project! Maybe you can talk the urban and development into using vacant lots into community gardening for argercultural projects! Or work to a strength and make a youth program of it! Its easy for me to say this cause we own a farm. So I dont know, just wish you all the best.

 

[wingless]

Ah, thanks smittyG, but I hope you'll go back and read at least a part of this thread. There are at least two kinds of regulations that determine farming rights in Michigan. You appear to know about your local level of regulation (requirement of 2 acres for small livestock and 5 acres for large livestock), but perhaps not as much about state level regulation.

Since the last amendment to the Right to Farm Act in 1999, every resident of Michigan who has a commercial farming operation and follows the GAAMPS is protected both from nuisance suits by neighbors, and from local regulations such as zoning and ordinances, regardless of the size or place of their farming operation. This is of course an over-simplification - for example, only the commercial part of your farming operation is protected, I think - but you get the idea. Michigan has a very strong Right to Farm law and it offers much broader protection than most people realize. An important case was won just last December by a BYC member on this thread who was sued by his local township for not following local ordinances, and he won that case and gets to keep his chickens and goats.

If you want to read that case you can find it here, under Forsyth Township v Buchler:
http://sustainablefarmpolicy.org/the-courts/

 

[wendorfa]

Hi, I am new to this site and have been reading through this thread. I am interested in having around 4 hens. I am reading through my local ordinances and this is what I read under 'Exotic Animals': Gamecocks and other fighting birds or fowl. Further on in the ordinances under 'Exceptions' you find: Any animal recognized by the Michigan Right to Farm Act, MCL 286.471 et seq. which complies with all State of Michigan rules, regulations, requirements, and statutes (including being in compliance with the generally accepted management
practices regulations) and which complies with the Georgetown Charter Township Zoning Ordinance and any other applicable township ordinances.

I am completely confused as to what in the world that exception even means? Is it stating that if I follow the GAAMPs that the RTF protects me? Any insight? Thanks in advance Wendi

 

[wingless]

Hi wendorfa -

Not positive, but it looks like Georgetown Charter Township recognizes that the RTF law places limits on what they can regulate using ordinances. That is really terrific.

If that interpretation is correct, then whatever part of your farming operation is commercial and compliant with the GAAMPS should be protected not only from local township regulations, but also from nuisance lawsuits from neighbors. So as I understand it if you have chickens and rabbits, and sell eggs, then RTF protects the chickens (because they are required for your commercial operation (eggs)) but not the rabbits (because they are not a part of the commercial part of your operation). But if you sell rabbits as part of your operation, then they are covered by RTF too.

One never knows how these things will turn out, but it does sound like you're in a good position to go forward. Best of luck.

 

[wendorfa]

Thank you so much. It's just complicated reading. I don't think it's going to be much of an issue, not like there's going to be a lot of noise, and only one neighbor can even see into my backyard, and that would be the only place something would come from. I just wanted to see how they were going to react if they *did* get a complaint. Especially since I recently tried to get them to let me have a miniature pig and they said "for the health and well being of the township residents" that the zoning would stay the same (I wasn't asking for a zoning change, just a variance for me )