Right to Farm

Farming and ranching come with sounds, smells, and sights that are part of rural life. Tractors start early, livestock bawl at odd hours, and manure piles up. These realities do not always sit well with new city folk who move into the country looking for quiet views and fresh air, but who do not fully understand what it means to live next to a working operation.

Idaho law anticipates this conflict and comes down squarely on the side of agriculture. The Idaho Right to Farm Act[1] protects agriculture like the Second Amendment protects our right to keep and bear arms:  “The right to farm is a natural right and is recognized as a permitted use throughout the state of Idaho.” This right-to-farm protection means agriculture is not just tolerated, it is affirmatively protected by law.

The law shields agricultural operations that have operated for more than one year from being declared nuisances based on changes in surrounding non-agricultural activities, provided that the operations were not originally nuisances.  In other words, as the landscape around the operations may change to a housing subdivision, the agricultural operation does not suddenly become a nuisance which the new populations can force to shut down.

What is an “agricultural operation?”  The Right to Farm Act defines an “agricultural operation” as “breeding, hatching, raising, producing, feeding and keeping livestock, dairy animals, swine, fur-bearing animals, poultry, eggs, fish and other aquatic species, and other animals, animal products and animal byproducts, animal waste, animal compost” as well as “manufacturing animal feed.”. Importantly for ranchers, the definition also protects “noise, odors, dust, fumes, light and other conditions associated with an agricultural operation or an agricultural facility.”

This rule is critical in a state where farmland and subdivisions increasingly sit side by side. Without it, agricultural operations would constantly be under threat from lawsuits brought by people who want the beauty of country living without the realities that come with it. The legislature recognized that farming and ranching are not nuisances. They are essential industries that form the backbone of Idaho’s economy and culture.

We have seen this law in action. In one case, a long-standing dairy outside a growing Idaho town found itself surrounded by new homes. Not long after, neighbors filed complaints about manure odor and dust from feed trucks. Without the right-to-farm statute, the dairy might have been forced into costly litigation or even shut down. Instead, the case was dismissed. The dairy had been in operation for decades, and the law was clear: the neighbors could not redefine the family’s livelihood as a nuisance simply because the landscape around them had changed.

This does not mean ranchers and farmers are free to do whatever they please. Operations must still follow environmental regulations, health standards, and other laws. If a rancher allows waste to contaminate a waterway or ignores safety standards in a way that harms others, the right-to-farm laws will not shield them. These protections defend the ordinary and expected impacts of agriculture, not negligence or unlawful practices.

The Act’s protections are also conditional upon meeting several requirements. First, the agricultural operation must have been in existence for more than one year. Second, the operation must not have been a nuisance when it originally began or was constructed. Third, the operation must be conducted with generally recognized agricultural practices and in compliance with a state or federally issued permit.”  The Act will not protect operations that are negligent or which have expanded and thereby caused the nuisance, or if they adversely affect the public health and safety.

All in all, Idaho law protects agriculture from nuisance suits because without those protections, our farms and ranches could be regulated out of existence by changing neighborhoods and shifting expectations. If you have been in operation for more than a year, you have the law on your side. And if your neighbor does not like the smell of cows, the simple truth is that they probably should have stayed in the city.

[1] I.C. § 22-4501 et seq.