Michigan Right to Farm Law, what does it mean?

[Traci32]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to backyard chickens! We just bought a house on 3 acres in Larkin Twp in Michigan and it is zoned agricultural and allows livestock and poultry as expected. We have 9 chickens in the brooder as we speak and dreams of a little hobby farm.

I am here because I am heartbroken to just have found out after further digging in the ordinances, that they require a minimum of 5 acres for the keeping of non-commercial animals, excluding household pets. Which means, based on the township laws, we can not have even our small flock of chicks

Based on our zoning and all the horses down the road we didn't think it would be a problem!

I have been trying to frantically determine if we are protected under Michigan Right to Farm Law. I think we would be considered Category 2 since we are zoned agricultural and there are only about 7 houses within a 1/4 mile. However, there is a new subdivision that has been surveyed coming in behind us so I don't know how long that will be the case. If I am reading the GAAMP correctly I don't think we would be subject to the Site Selection GAAMP....but I am really confused!?!?!

Would love any advice on how to proceed from some veterans that are more familiar with the law. I don't know if we should ask the township for permission, or if we should just do it and fight them if they have issues with it. Can I get "covered? under Michigan Right to Farm somehow by having them review my situation....! How do I do this?

We have been dreaming of a hobby farm for 6 years and I am truly heartbroken if we just bought a house and can't do that! We have been working so hard for this and I feel like the rug just got pulled out from under us, I never would have thought it would be an issue in an agricultural zone....especially since there is a huge old barn (with milking stations) and corn crib on our property!!!!!!

Sorry for all the whining! Thanks everyone for reading!
Traci

 

[BigHope888]

Hi Traci,

I'm no expert; but from what I understand, Michigan Right to Farm was designed to allow every Michigan resident to farm, states that the State has no minimum of animals to be considered a farm, and also provides protection from local townships' ordinances. The bad news is that those seeking RTF protection need to follow GAAMPS (Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management Practices), which are being "amended" in, oh, just about seven hours from right now. I'm even more fuzzy on GAAMPS, but I do think it requires sales, or intent of sales, or some other hoop-jumping gobbledygook. Come join us on the Michigan thread! Everyone is pretty respectful and informative, and often funny ; ) It moves fast but there's LOTS of information to be found. I'm sure someone will be posting about RTF and GAAMPs. Lots of us are going to Lansing in the morning, and there will be updates for sure.

Ha, all this, and I don't even have chickens yet! Who'd have thunk?

Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

 

[RTFchickens]

Traci,
Currently you would be protected by RTF, you must meet three criteria
1. Produce an agricultural product (eggs)
2. Be commercial in nature (sell eggs) or intend to sell eggs when your chicks lay.
3. Meet GAAMPS which we have gotten MAEAP verified to prove this.

Unfortunately MDARD is looking to change our protection today! They will be meeting and voting on this today in Lansing. Hopefully MDARD will be pursuaded by the overwhelming support to keep RTF protection for all of michigan farmers regardless of size of farm and zoning.

My personal story is that we have 59 acres zoned residential and we are not allowed one farm animal! Our township does not allow ANY farm animals on any sized res zoned lots... So far they have harrassed us to the point of criminal prosecution, but we have not been taken to court (yet). The commissioner was sentenced last month
Be prepared for a long ugly battle if you decide to stand up to the township bullying and dictating what you are "allowed" to do on your private property...
If you would like to PM me, I would be happy to share more.
Good luck!
RTF

 

[mcbeers]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to backyard chickens! We just bought a house on 3 acres in Larkin Twp in Michigan and it is zoned agricultural and allows livestock and poultry as expected. We have 9 chickens in the brooder as we speak and dreams of a little hobby farm.

I am here because I am heartbroken to just have found out after further digging in the ordinances, that they require a minimum of 5 acres for the keeping of non-commercial animals, excluding household pets. Which means, based on the township laws, we can not have even our small flock of chicks

Based on our zoning and all the horses down the road we didn't think it would be a problem!

I have been trying to frantically determine if we are protected under Michigan Right to Farm Law. I think we would be considered Category 2 since we are zoned agricultural and there are only about 7 houses within a 1/4 mile. However, there is a new subdivision that has been surveyed coming in behind us so I don't know how long that will be the case. If I am reading the GAAMP correctly I don't think we would be subject to the Site Selection GAAMP....but I am really confused!?!?!

Would love any advice on how to proceed from some veterans that are more familiar with the law. I don't know if we should ask the township for permission, or if we should just do it and fight them if they have issues with it. Can I get "covered? under Michigan Right to Farm somehow by having them review my situation....! How do I do this?

We have been dreaming of a hobby farm for 6 years and I am truly heartbroken if we just bought a house and can't do that! We have been working so hard for this and I feel like the rug just got pulled out from under us, I never would have thought it would be an issue in an agricultural zone....especially since there is a huge old barn (with milking stations) and corn crib on our property!!!!!!

Sorry for all the whining! Thanks everyone for reading!
Traci

Without getting into the specifics of RTF, I would just like to give a small piece of advice to be cautious about approaching your township pre-emptively. They may be willing to talk to you, and be reasonable. But if they have the law on their books they probably are of the opinion that residents should be following that law. By contacting them, you will be showing some degree of knowledge of their law. Not that ignorance is a defense, but knowing that that ordinance does not matter with current RTF laws superceding it is. But, as others have been pointing out, there is going to be a vote at a meeting starting in about 45 minutes that could completely change things. Still, if it were me, I would hold off on contacting the township. I am keeping chickens in a city that claims it is illegal right now. I know they were not open to changing the ordinance when approached a few years back. I don't believe they are going out of their way to bother people about it though, unless they get complaints. I know of a handful of people in my city keeping chickens. I'm sure there are more. They only have bothered people who have had complaints from other residents. To my knowledge anyway. I'll be updating the Michigan Small Farm Council facebook followers on the vote today, as soon as I know the outcome. Feel free to come check out our facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/michigansmallfarmcouncil

 

[Traci32]

Thanks everyone for your replies, I really appreciate it!

We originally wanted to raise chickens, bees, and a goat for milking. Plus we already have a ton of apple trees and blueberry bushes so we were hoping to get a small hobby farm to produce for our family but we also wanted to sell some as well for a little extra money. I just can't believe how difficult it is for people to raise/produce their own food on their own property, especially since it is on such a small scale. I just don't see what the big deal is. It seems like my problem is just acreage, since we are zoned Agriculture and it allows livestock and poutry! Anyone have/heard of fighting the acreage requirement with any success, I am just wondering how much weight it carries? I just wonder if the twp will be lenient, but if anyone complains then we won't have the township law on our side.

I am afraid if I talk to the township they will change my zoning to residential, but if I don't get "permission" first then I will be wasting a lot of money in getting the coop together if I will just have to get rid of them. We are a family of 5, with a baby on the way. I stay home so money is really tight, which is why we want to produce our own healthy food in the first place. I feel like I don't have any options anymore....I guess we'll just have to eat good ole McDonalds everyday since that is the cheapest subsidized option...no healthy organic food for us (read sarcasm)! OK I'll stop venting now, sorry. We live about a 1/2-mile down the road from the Township office and you can see our coop from the road, so everyone will know we have them as soon as we start modifying the existing structure and get the chickens in there is a few weeks.

I wish I had found this earlier, I would have loved to go to Lansing today. I will stay posted and see what happens with the vote this morning.

Thanks again!
Traci

 

[Rfournier]

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[Rfournier]

I just joined the MSFC thanks to Wendy & BYC. I feel so empowered..lol

 

[Mustaq Varish]

How ironic that on the day of the year that marks the start of the new growing season in the northern hemisphere…and after a presentation about the latest rendition of a National Farm Bill, I have to come to Lansing to defend my right to produce my own food on my own land. Hardly a week goes by anymore that someone doesn’t fall dead at the salad bar or gets contaminated with e-coli after eating poorly processed meats. In terms of absolute safety and food quality, big business and big government have failed the consumer.

One of the key concepts in America is personal choice and making your own food was a basic tenet of early American life. The founding fathers saw fit to include legislation about protecting human life with firearms but the right to provide your own food was apparently so fundamental that it must have seemed foolish to have to make laws to protect it. If people no longer have the right to feed themselves on their own property, what do we have left?

In as much as this meeting is open to the general public…I don’t believe the board is required to give equal weight to the comments and opinions of people in the audience especially when those comments run counter to the opinions of the GAAMPS chairpersons. If people still have questions about the reasons and rationale for the proposed changes to the site selection GAAMP, I suggest following the money to find the truth.

Now if big business wants an easier way to amass huge sums of money, just work with government to find a way to tax people who refuse to get involved in growing their own food on their own property. It’s a win-win for government and the environment since locally grown food is less energy intensive and those that eat the food are totally incented to do it right.

Additionally…all the politics on earth can’t impact the laws of physics. With ever diminishing fossil fuels and no solar-powered backhoes or combines in the foreseeable future, people will inevitably return to hunting, gathering and subsistence farming for survival. Rules put in place now to curtail personal farming serve to change the status of small independent producers to that of small dependent consumers and I’m sure that’s part of the plan. Whether such a shift can be perpetually supported in a healthful manner by big business remains to be seen. One thing big business will never turn their backs on is an increase in the number of consumers and eliminating competing producers is simply an added benefit.

In the same way that a basketball with corners is not a basketball, and a balloon full of holes is not a balloon, a Right to Farm Act with a site selection GAAMP as proposed is no longer a functioning Right to Farm Act. 1981 is not that long ago, and while I was chasing Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic, some of the board members were spending long hours crafting the initial version of this act which became the envy of the country’s home farming movement. I can only imagine what kind of pressure is being applied to you now to turn those good intentions on their head. In the three minutes that I’ve been up here now, one of our chickens may have laid another egg and eating that egg might let me live another day or so. So…no matter what, this time talking has been well spent for me.

The Michigan Right to Farm Act…”What the big print giveth, the little print taketh away”.

 

[RTFchickens]

I'm so glad that we are attracting others' attention to the attack on small farming! Many many people have no idea that this war is going on to keep our right to farm. Lots of people use Facebook, but not all of us.
I feel very strongly against using it for myself. Please keep the BYC RTF thread updated with changes also, since we don't all do Facebook. Thank you!!! ;-)
And thank you to everyone for helping us in the fight to keep farming!!!

 

[RTFchickens]

I've email every single member of the Ag commission today with only one member returning my email. I'm not done though. You see, this land was ALL farm land at one point. Occupied by Native Americans who farmed, hunted, lived, and loved this land. We were all given the Right To Farm. Unfortunately this land that we think is ours is taxed to the point where if we don't keep paying for our property every year (twice actually) then it is repossessed by the government. Even though we buy, and pay taxes on our property we are not free to do with it what we choose. My animals cannot be seen heard nor smelled without trespassing, yet I'm fighting to keep them, and fighting criminal harrasent from my local officials.
I'm fed up! I work hard, raise my family right, and in my spare time I as well as others travel the state, and make calls and send emails just to advocate for my right to feed my family, and some friends the way people have done for hundreds if not thousands of years.
Hopefully these emails and calls don't fall on deaf ears...