The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 12 : Court Procedure

Chapter 195 : Nuisance Suits Against Agricultural Activities

• § 5752. Definitions

  As used in this chapter:

  (1) “Agricultural activity” means, but is not limited to:

  (A) the cultivation or other use of land for producing food, fiber, Christmas trees, maple sap, or horticultural and orchard crops; the raising, feeding, or management of domestic animals as defined in 6 V.S.A. § 1151 or bees; the operation of greenhouses; the production of maple syrup; the on-site storage, preparation, and sale of agricultural products principally produced on the farm; and the on-site production of fuel or power from agricultural products or wastes principally produced on the farm;

  (B) the preparation, tilling, fertilization, planting, protection, irrigation, and harvesting of crops; the composting of material principally produced by the farm or to be used at least in part on the farm; the ditching and subsurface drainage of farm fields and the construction of farm ponds; the handling of livestock wastes and by-products; and the on-site storage and application of agricultural inputs, including lime, fertilizer, and pesticides;

  (C) “farming” as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6001; and

  (D) “agricultural activities” as defined in 6 V.S.A. § 4802.

  (2) “Generally accepted agricultural practices” mean:

  (A) the requirements of 6 V.S.A. chapter 215, including permit requirements or requirements of the Required Agricultural Practices, where applicable;

  (B) the requirements of an active Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation permit issued under 10 V.S.A. chapter 47, where applicable;

  (C) the requirements of the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets’ Vermont Rule for Control of Pesticides; and

  (D) practices conducted in a manner consistent with proper and accepted customs and standards followed by similar operators of agricultural activities in the State.

  (3) “Good standing with the State” means a person conducting an agricultural activity that is the basis of a nuisance claim does not have an active, unresolved enforcement violation stemming from the agricultural activity at issue that has reached a final order with the Secretary of Natural Resources or the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets. (Added 1981, No. 68, eff. May 1, 1981; amended 2003, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. June 3, 2004; 2021, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. June 1, 2022; 2025, No. 61, § 1, eff. July 1, 2025.)