Michigan Right to Farm Law, what does it mean?

[wingless]

This is a bill to restrict the RTF protection in Detroit so that we don’t have “pigs right next door to somebody trying to raise a normal family”. To me that means that without this bill, RTF would protect the rights of the “pig raising family” if the pig was being raised as a farming activity. Insert chicken and it appears that both Virgil Smith and Joe Hune are of the belief that raising backyard chickens and selling some their poultry product would be an activity protected by RTF even if in contravention of a local ordinance. Maybe contact them?

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/11/state_legislator_looks_to_amen.html

But according to that article Virgil Smith wanted urban farms in Detroit to be regulated by the city - so not protected by MRTFA. In fact I think that this was later resolved by adding a rule to GAAMPS to essentially keep cities with over 100,000 residents from being able to claim MRTFA protection. I don't think this is the direction we want to go in!

But that article also reminded my about the Michigan Farm Bureau - so I went to their website and searched "right to farm" (which is what I do a lot these days) and found an article about Snyder and Bill Schuette in the run up to the last election. Bill Schuette is now the Michigan Attorney General, but at one time he was the Director of the MDA, and supported MRTFA. VikkiP, was he the MDA Director at the time that you were fighting your case, with support from the MDA?

Just trying to figure out who the players are at the state level, and what their positions are ...

 

[mcbeers]

I agree, what he is looking to do is NOT good for us. However, he is a member of state government, who is basically conceding that it does protect us all, AT THIS TIME. Like MI-CHick is saying. Not that his indirect opinion would probably hold up in court, but it is something.

 

[wingless]

Agreed!

 

[MI-CHick]

My thinking is when a city tells you RTF doesn’t apply to your 3 or 4 hens in a residentially zoned area you can ask them why this legislation is being proposed if RTF doesn’t apply.

 

[VikkiP]

Stephen J. Mahoney, CPAg
Michigan Department of Agriculture
Environmental Stewardship Division
525 W. Allegan Street
P.O. Box 30017
Lansing, MI 48909
(517) 241-2508
(517) 335-3329 (fax)
[email protected]

We worked with Stephen Mahoney in the Environmental Stewardship Division when submitting our GAAMP Manure Management Plans and soil test results. Not sure if he is still there, since that was back in 2004, but he was VERY helpful.

 

[CaraBear]

After reading several articles, it seems clear that the Detroit issue about MRTFA is that if Detroit allows farming, it wants control over all farming operations - with more strict guidelines than GAAMPS. They are talking about re-zoning - they are not acknowledging that current commercial farms in residential areas are acceptable. I don't think this helps us at all...

 

[RaZ]

The Detroit issue has roots in the belief that Detroit is an entity unto itself.
The city wants to be autonomous yet still take funds from the state.
Detroit is NOT helping its' own citizens, let alone any citizen of the the state.

 

[MI-CHick]

CaraBear I disagree. Assuming RTF covers all farming operations regardless of zoning, right now a person in a residentially zoned area of Detroit could start a farm with chickens and be protected by RTF as long as GAAMPS etc are followed. Passing this bill means that Detroit would be exempt from RTF and because RTF is state level, the state has to approve this, not the city. I think Detroit needs urban farming and I don’t like this bill but, if there is something at the state level saying that all cities of a certain size are covered by RTF then it means the state finally acknowledges that commercial BYCers in smaller cities are covered. If this bill doesn't pass, hopefully it means that all cities, regardess of size will recognize that RTF trumps local ordinances.

On a side note, I think it is ridiculous that with all the financial issues and crime that Detroit is facing they would waste precious taxpayer money going after chicken/pig owners trying to make an “honest” dollar while filling the void for healthy food.

 

[CaraBear]

It's not that I disagree wih you, but in reading the articles, they talk about "opening up Detroit to commercial farming" -in theory, all of Detroit is already 'open' to commercial farming! I just couldn't find a quote anywhere that I could use in defense in my city - all they are saying is that they don't want to allow commercial farming because then MRFTA trumps their ordinances ....OUR point being that they are already supposed to allow commercial farming...But no article I found says THAT....just that Detroit wants to be able to control it...

 

[RaZ]

That is my point.
Detroit or any other city in Michigan does not have the authority to supersede state law.