By MARC KOVAC
LONDON -- Farmers wanting to avoid potential lawsuits from new non-farming neighbors would be wise to complete formal management plans and enroll their acres in the state's ag district program.
They can also make additional efforts to help neighbors understand their operations and the sights and sounds of production agriculture.
"We have a lot more people watching us now," said Peggy Kirk Hall, director of the agricultural law program at Ohio State University, "which means we have to work a little harder at maintaining our public image."
Hall was one of the featured speakers during Question the Authorities, an interview-style program that is part of the Farm Science Review near London, about 20 minutes west of Columbus. The event draws about 100,000 people annually over three days in September and includes presentations and displays of farm-related equipment, research and products.
Hall focused her comments on nuisance laws and ways for farmers to avoid civil lawsuits prompted by the dust, noise and odors that come with country living.
She described the two areas of law that cover nuisances and may extend to farming. The first is statutory and includes a long list of different situations outlined by lawmakers as potential nuisances. A couple are ag-related, mostly dealing with the smells that come from keeping animals.
However, lawmakers also have included an exception to such claims as they relate to agriculture -- provided that farms are operating outside of city limits and related activities are conducted according to generally accepted practices and within public health laws, Hall said.
"You really need an operation that is doing everything wrong to get into that statute," she said.
More often, nuisance claims are brought through common law, which defines a nuisance as any unreasonable interference with someone else's right to use and enjoy their property, Hall said.
But even in those cases, Ohio farmers can avoid civil lawsuits by enrolling their acres in the state's agricultural district program, she said.
"If you do that, then there's built-in protection against a civil nuisance claim," she said, adding that enrollees must follow generally accepted practices, and the protection extends to claims brought by property owners who moved in after a farm was established.
Farmers also could benefit from completing approved management plans through soil and water conservation districts or other agencies, Hall said. Such plans would provide further proof that a farm is operating in line with environmental and public health requirements.
"The courts realize we can't do everything to minimize some of those offensive impacts of agriculture," Hall said. "But the courts expect us to be doing everything we can -- everything that our industry recognizes as good practices."
Finally, producers would benefit from reaching out to their non-farming neighbors, Hall said.
"Unfortunately, we can't be as insulated as we used to be in agriculture," she said. "Now we have to deal with public perception. There are a lot of people concerned about the things that we're doing...."