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Vermont farm leaders, Agency of Agriculture push to clarify nuisance law in S.45
Summary
Farmers and the Agency of Agriculture told the Judiciary committee that S.45 would clarify unclear nuisance and trespass standards that currently shift the litigation burden onto farmers and raise litigation costs, and they urged mediation and statutory definitions of customary agricultural practices.
Steve Collier, general counsel for the Agency of Agriculture, told the Judiciary committee on Feb. 20 that the state’s existing nuisance-and-trespass law is unclear and puts an undue litigation burden on farmers.
Collier said the statute’s rebuttable-presumption language effectively requires a farmer defending a nuisance claim to prove compliance with a host of laws and practices rather than requiring the plaintiff to prove the farm caused a legal wrong. “This flips that,” Collier said, describing the practical effect as forcing farms into costly, protracted litigation even when they are following regulatory requirements.
The proposed S.45 would set clearer standards, Collier and several farmers said. Collier pointed to Section 57‑51 (findings and purpose) and Section 57‑53 as the provisions at issue and said the bill would define “accepted agricultural practices” and tie protection to…
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