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Farmers, environmental group urge changes to Vermont's right-to-farm bill; disagree on adding trespass
Summary
Farmers praised a Senate-passed right-to-farm bill as a path to protect long-running family operations; the Vermont Natural Resources Council supported reform but warned against adding trespass and a new statutory definition of nuisance, saying those changes could invite litigation and complicate water-quality enforcement.
Paul Dotan, a Barnard dairy farmer, testified in support of a state bill that he said would protect family farms from nuisance lawsuits while allowing them to continue routine operations. "If dairy and other types of agriculture and dairy especially because of its contribution to tourism are going to be continued into the future ... there needs to be a strong right to farm law in this state," Dotan said. "The bill that was passed by the senate gives us that path forward, and I support that bill."
The farmer described operations at Dotan Farm LLC, saying the farm runs about 100 Holsteins and that his son currently milks between "60 and 65." He told the committee the farm harvests hay on roughly 225 acres, buys about 300 tons of delivered corn silage at harvest, and travels up to six miles to secure forage. He described neighborhood friction over spreading…
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