Recent changes to Michigan’s 33-year-old Right to Farm Act exclude urban farms from protection.

When Michigan passed the Right to Farm Act back in 1981, it was designed to protect farmers from urban sprawl. As suburban development expanded into rural areas, the new residents—people with “limited understanding of farming,” as a Right to Farm Act FAQ sheet calls them—often found typical farming conditions, including dust, odors, animal noises and such, unacceptable. Sometimes, the interlopers would file nuisance suits against the farmers. Essentially, the law said this is how farming smells, sounds, looks and acts. It has a right to do so.

Over the last several years, the flow has reversed, with farming moving back to town. Increasingly, urban dwellers are raising vegetables, chickens and even goats in their backyards or on small plots of land. Some do so for their own consumption, wanting to reduce their reliance on factory-farmed foods. Some are entrepreneurs, producing small batch products to sell at farmers markets and other outlets. Late last month, the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development put their right to do so in doubt. Continue reading “In Michigan, NIMBY trumps urban farming” →