Michigan Right to Farm Law, what does it mean?

[wingless]

The good news is if we can get the word out to these other people who currently aren't aware of the changes, it will add a ton more manpower towards shooting down the new draft! If the new draft gets stopped, at least that would buy you urban farmers more time to lobby for your end of the deal

Actually, fuzzy, it is the opinion of most folks on this thread that RTF already protects us if we're commercial and follow GAAMPS, since the 1999 amendment prohibits local regulations from conflicting with that protection. So all you need is a commercial farming operation that follows GAAMPS to get RTF protection. There is a link in my signature line that explains the law and the court cases very clearly. And the whole reason Detroit is twisted in a knot about urban agriculture is because RTF protects them too, so long as they are commercial and follow GAAMPS. So we're not lobbying for anything new here - we already have RTF protection. We're just doing our best to keep it.

RaZ, can't wait to see what you come up with.

 

[wingless]

On a side note, I've been trying to figure out what historical role Bill Schuette, the current Attorney General, has had in RTF. I did a search on something like "Schuette GAAMPS" and found this Oct. 7, 1999 Journal of the Senate document, which captures the senate discussion around the 1999 amendment a couple of months before it passed. Here you can read what McManus said, what Schutte said - what a whole bunch of legislators said, and get a much better idea of what they considered to be a stake at the time. You'll note that Shuette supported the bill, and even asked to be listed as a co-sponsor.

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(mp...2000/Journal/Senate/htm/1999-SJ-10-07-066.htm

 

[fuzzybutt love]

I didn't mean it that way, i know you are protected now! I meant that it would buy time to modify the proposed version of the new gaamps to have a new category for small farms, and to keep them protected! Right now small farms are swallowed up in the broad category, and the limitations.

The people who are at stake now are the small property owners,and those zoned at #2, possibly zone 1 as well from the sounds of it. These are the people out here that are growing their own meat, have a couple cows or pigs, the small dairy farms, the hobby farms with their couple horses and goats. The feed mills, who supply these people. If you can get these people aware of the risk, it will get a lot more people talking.

My agenda is to expose fatal flaws in the new draft, tie them into the representative's current concerns, and piggyback the chickens into the whole shebang. Seems like the representatives were currently concerned with 1) checking out how the cash crops were doing 2) Seeing how we relate with the losses to the midwest / put us in the position to supply our animals and make money (we are doing better) 3)How to get youth involved in farming ...........
.so i am going to look into the zoning changes and see if it is possible it could affect the land available for wheat and corn, see what kind of financial impact the small rural farms have on the economy. Explore how the limitations will impact them. I figure by focusing on the bigger issues, it will get them asking more questions about the draft, and if it gets shut down it will buy more time to go in and suggest changes favorable to keeping chickens I would love if they made changes with it before deciding, but the chances are slim with that kind of time frame. So i want to focus on making them not want to pass it.

 

[AngelaTC]

Hi guys - new here. I don't have chickens, but wound up here while exploring the possibility of getting some.

I am involved in politics in other areas of my life, and I wanted to commend you for stepping up and getting involved. It's a frustrating process, to say the least. Having said that, I'd like to suggest that you make sure all your concerns about the proposed changes to GAAMPS are posted on Carabear's Facebook page. I am in Joe Hune's district, and he is a nice guy. He's also a hobby farmer, with peacocks and other fowl, but he's in a rural area, so they aren't in the backyard of his city house. I invited him to take a look at her page. If you're Facebook friends with your local rep, I'd suggest inviting them, too.

Having said that, I am active in the local GOP, and I want to warn you that most of these regulations are written to protect the interests of the corporate chicken farmers. Obviously, they have no interest in giving us permission to harvest our own eggs. They'd prefer that we be forced to buy factory eggs from them, and they will spend time and money lobbying (two things we don't have) to protect their interests at the expense of ours.

It might behoove us to start encouraging people to actually step up and run for city council positions. In the event that the law does get changed to take away the freedoms we currently should be enjoying, the logical next step would be to make local governments more friendly to backyard farming.

Also, I can't tell you how important it is to call and write your local legislators. Seriously, they practically run on auto-pilot. Any time they get a call from a citizen about pending legislation, they do indeed notice it, because it's practically unheard of. 90% of the calls the get are from people who want them to solve problems - traffic, roads, schools, benefits.

And if you find a legislator who votes with your, make sure you support that candidate in the upcoming elections. Volunteer for the campaign, send them a little cash, or both. It really does make a difference.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

In the event that the law does get changed to take away the freedoms we currently should be enjoying, the logical next step would be to make local governments more friendly to backyard farming.

I agree with this, not sure how to go about it.
I personally see no difference between a chicken and a parrot, other than expense. I love mine just as dearly, and grieve just as much as one would for a dog or relative when one dies. I just went through this, and i can say for a fact since i have lost a few relatives in the last 5 years, there is no difference in the way i feel. I do think chickens, at least in small numbers, should be considered a dual purpose livestock/ pet as rabbits are.

This right here would be the lobbying, i think.
http://www.planningmi.org/downloads/rtfa_board_adopted_policy_feb_19_2010.pdf

What concerns me still is the fact that not all country properties are zoned ag. In fact, unless there are 5+ acres, i would put money on it NOT being ag, since you can't put a house on ag property of less than 5 acres. This affects a lot of people, i think, and i really don't think they know it yet.

 

[AngelaTC]

Quote: That's my downfall too. I am thinking about possibly running for city council, but I would only be one vote.

Because, like you said, I don't think there's much difference between chickens and any other small animal. If I had 200 dogs on my property, and the neighbors complained about the noise and smell, the laws already in place allow a remedy. If I have chickens (who seem to be much quieter than dogs), how is that significantly different?

When I lived in Florida, we were in a neighborhood that was anything but rural. Our neighbors had a goat. The kids walked it like it was a dog. It was technically illegal, but none of the neighbors cared. And there wasn't a smell coming from their yard, either.

And when I was in high school, one of my friends got ripped off by the guy who sold her Dad a pot-belly pig, in that it turned out to be a regular pig. So she had a 400 lb house pet. It was kind of mean, and would bite, but not as dangerous or even as smelly as a dog.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

One vote is better than no vote! If nothing else it would put you in a position to be informed ahead of time, and to possibly influence the vote!

 

[wingless]

It might behoove us to start encouraging people to actually step up and run for city council positions. In the event that the law does get changed to take away the freedoms we currently should be enjoying, the logical next step would be to make local governments more friendly to backyard farming.

I agree with this, not sure how to go about it.

That's my downfall too. I am thinking about possibly running for city council, but I would only be one vote.

You know, the original 1981 Right to Farm Act did give regulatory power over farming to local units of government. The 1999 amendment was passed because McManus and other legislators convened a task force to look at farming issues in Michigan and came to the conclusion that those local governments are not inclined to protect agriculture - so if not regulated at the state, rather than the local level, agriculture will decline. It makes sense if you think that local units of government tend to be worried about local, short term issues like keeping the peace between neighbors, while the state tends to think more about long term issues like the role of agriculture in the Michigan economy.

Based on what I've seen listening to people on this thread for two years, going the ordinance route is slow, frustrating, and usually ends in failure to win the right to have even a few chickens. I just don't see much evidence that this is a very effective strategy.

On the other hand, when we go to Ag Commission meetings to talk about RTF we are in a room full of people who are passionate about agriculture. They may think that we are pretty small players in their game, but they understand why it is important in a way that local units of government rarely do. They still care about neighbor relations, of course - I think we all do - but they also care about what is lost when agriculture is lost, and are more inclined to keep working toward a solution that includes agriculture, rather than simply banning agriculture altogether.

So when I think about next steps, I think about how we are going to integrate ourselves into the agricultural community in Michigan, so that someone representing small, urban, or backyard farms in Michigan sits on the Ag Commission, or on the GAAMPS Review Committee, or the Michigan Farm Bureau or local Food Policy Council - so that we are never again caught unawares when changes to RTF that affect so much of us are trickling through the system.

Not that there can't be more than one strategy, of course. Just want to say that in addition to thinking forward on how to strengthen ourselves at the local level, we should also be thinking about how to strengthen ourselves at the state level.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

What about calling yourself "homesteaders"?

Hobby farm sounds like an indulgence
Entrepeneurial is too hard to spell and wordy.........

Homesteading is small scale farming, providing food for your family. Pretty much what you all do! Even the amish sell stuff for money, so it is a type of business to my way of thinking.
???

 

[RaZ]

I like it!