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Staff proposes 'agricultural operation' and 'agricultural product' language; no standalone 'farm' definition adopted
Summary
County staff recommended using statutory language for 'agricultural operation' and adding an 'agricultural products' definition, rather than creating a standalone county 'farm' definition. Committee directed staff to carry terms forward for the next stakeholder meeting.
Loudoun County staff proposed replacing or clarifying several local terms by leaning on state statutory language to reduce confusion in the zoning ordinance.
The core recommendation is to adopt the term "agricultural operation" (the phrase used in state code) as the operative zoning use tied to protections in the agritourism statute, and to add a definition for "agricultural products" to clarify which goods and outputs count as agriculture for zoning purposes.
Staff and stakeholders explained the rationale: "farm" is used inconsistently across statutes and local codes and can be difficult to define in a way that accommodates both large commodity farms and small, intensive specialty operations (greens, floriculture, high‑tunnel vegetable production). Using the state statute’s term for the conduct of agriculture — agricultural operation — lets the county reference an established legal framework while retaining local standards where necessary.
Staff said the county would keep the higher‑level classification “agriculture” in the zoning code but treat the specific, permit‑relevant use as agricultural operation and would add a cross‑reference to a concise list of agricultural products (livestock, poultry, horticultural, floricultural, viticultural, silvicultural crops, etc.).
Committee direction
The committee accepted the approach in concept and asked staff to carry the agricultural‑operation/product language into the June stakeholder meeting materials so the group could examine how that terminology interacts with brewery/winery/distillery definitions and other farm‑related uses.
Why it matters
How the county defines agriculture and the specific uses that count as agricultural operations affects permitting, the ability to use agricultural exemptions, eligibility for agritourism protections, and the county’s capacity to prevent misuse of agricultural definitions to justify non‑agricultural development.
