§ 308 — Right to farm

§ 308. Right to farm. 1. a. The commissioner shall, in consultation\nwith the state advisory council on agriculture, issue opinions upon\nrequest from any person as to whether particular agricultural practices\nare sound.\n b. Sound agricultural practices refer to those practices necessary for\nthe on-farm production, preparation and marketing of agricultural\ncommodities. Examples of activities which entail practices the\ncommissioner may consider include, but are not limited to, operation of\nfarm equipment; proper use of agricultural chemicals and other crop\nprotection methods; direct sale to consumers of agricultural commodities\nor foods containing agricultural commodities produced on-farm;\nagricultural tourism; "timber operation," as defined in subdivision\nfourteen of section three hundred one of this article and construction\nand use of farm structures. The commissioner shall consult appropriate\nstate agencies and any guidelines recommended by the advisory council on\nagriculture. The commissioner may consult as appropriate, the New York\nstate college of agriculture and life sciences and the U.S.D.A. natural\nresources conservation service, and provide such information, after the\nissuance of a formal opinion, to the municipality in which the\nagricultural practice being evaluated is located. The commissioner shall\nalso consider whether the agricultural practices are conducted by a farm\nowner or operator as part of his or her participation in the AEM program\nas set forth in article eleven-A of this chapter. Such practices shall\nbe evaluated on a case-by-case basis.\n 2. Upon the issuance of an opinion pursuant to this section, the\ncommissioner shall publish a notice in a newspaper having a general\ncirculation in the area surrounding the practice and notice shall be\ngiven in writing to the owner of the property on which the practice is\nconducted and any adjoining property owners. The opinion of the\ncommissioner shall be final, unless within thirty days after publication\nof the notice a person affected thereby institutes a proceeding to\nreview the opinion in the manner provided by article seventy-eight of\nthe civil practice law and rules.\n 3. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, on any land in an\nagricultural district created pursuant to section three hundred three or\nland used in agricultural production subject to an agricultural\nassessment pursuant to section three hundred six of this article, an\nagricultural practice shall not constitute a private nuisance, when an\naction is brought by a person, provided such agricultural practice\nconstitutes a sound agricultural practice pursuant to an opinion issued\nupon request by the commissioner. Nothing in this section shall be\nconstrued to prohibit an aggrieved party from recovering damages for\npersonal injury or wrongful death.\n 4. The commissioner, in consultation with the state advisory council\non agriculture, shall issue an opinion within thirty days upon request\nfrom any person as to whether particular land uses are agricultural in\nnature. Such land use decisions shall be evaluated on a case-by-case\nbasis.\n 5. The commissioner shall develop and make available to prospective\ngrantors and purchasers of real property located partially or wholly\nwithin any agricultural district in this state and to the general\npublic, practical information related to the right to farm as set forth\nin this article including, but not limited to right to farm disclosure\nrequirements established pursuant to section three hundred ten of this\narticle and section three hundred thirty-three-c of the real property\nlaw.\n