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Agency of Agriculture seeks statutory fix to protect gardens, backyard poultry and clarify farming exemptions
Summary
Agency of Agriculture staff told a legislative committee they will propose statutory and RAPs rule changes to explicitly protect growing food and small backyard flocks from municipal zoning, raise the sales threshold from $2,000 to $5,000, and create a discretionary 1–4 acre review for livestock with municipal consultation.
BURLINGTON — Steve Collier of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture told a legislative committee that the agency will send draft statutory and rule language intended to restore and clarify the state’s exemption for farming from municipal zoning after a recent court decision. “To us, this is a must‑have bill this session,” Collier said, summarizing the agency’s goal of protecting farmers and residents who grow food while keeping farming reasonably regulated.
The draft would explicitly prohibit towns from using zoning bylaws to restrict the cultivation of plants for food and would protect a ‘‘small backyard poultry flock’’ (excluding roosters) from municipal zoning enforcement. Collier said the change would not make every garden subject to agency regulation; rather, it would remove zoning as a barrier to growing food.
On monetary thresholds, the agency proposes raising the current $2,000 gross‑sales trigger that brings small producers under Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs) to $5,000. Collier said the Vermont…
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