Vermont Statutes Annotated

Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 12, § 5751 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026

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(Cite as: 12 V.S.A. § 5751)

§ 5751. Legislative findings and purpose

The General Assembly finds that agricultural production is a major contributor to the State’s economy; that agricultural lands constitute unique and irreplaceable resources of statewide importance; that the continuation of existing and the initiation of new agricultural activities preserve the landscape and environmental resources of the State, contribute to the increase of tourism, and further the economic welfare and self-sufficiency of the people of the State; and that the encouragement, development, improvement, and preservation of agriculture will result in a general benefit to the health and welfare of the people of the State. In order for the agricultural industry to survive in this State, farms will likely change, adopt new technologies, and diversify into new products, which for some farms will mean increasing in size. The General Assembly finds that agricultural activities are potentially subject to lawsuits based on the theory of nuisance and that these suits encourage and could force the premature removal of the farmlands and other farm resources from agricultural use. It is the purpose of this chapter to protect reasonable agricultural activities conducted on the farm from nuisance lawsuits. (Added 1981, No. 68, eff. May 1, 1981; amended 2003, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. June 3, 2004; 2025, No. 61, § 1, eff. July 1, 2025.)

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2003–2025 · leading case: In Re Eustance Act 250 Juris. Opinion (No. 2-231), 2009 VT 16 (Vt. 2009).

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In Re Eustance Act 250 Juris. Opinion (No. 2-231), 2009 VT 16 (Vt. 2009). · cites it 2× “" 12 V.S.A. § 5751. The protection is available only if the agricultural activities are "established prior to surrounding nonagricultural activities.”

Trickett v. Ochs, 2003 VT 91 (Vt. 2003). “12 V.S.A. § 5751 (emphasis added). ¶ 21. The substance of the law is in § 5753(a), which provides: (a) Agricultural activities conducted on farmland, if consistent with good agricultural practices and established prior to surrounding non-agricultural activities, shall be…”

In re Moore Accessory Structure Permit & Use, 2013 VT 54 (Vt. 2013). “” 12 V.S.A. § 5751. ¶ 11. The record evidence, therefore, fully supports the trial court’s conclusion that appellees’ wood-processing activities constitute “practices associated with” farming, and that the structures used for carrying out these activities are exempt from local…”

In Re 8 Taft Street DRB & NOV Appeals (Stephen Wille Padnos & Sharon Wille Padnos, Appellants), 2025 VT 27 (Vt. 2025). “¶ 10 (quoting Vermont’s “Right-to-Farm” law, 12 V.S.A. § 5751)). We did not, however, address the meaning of “required agricultural practices,” and our interpretation of the term “farm structure”—a term specifically defined by the Legislature in 24 V.”

Velda J. Shore v. Maple Lane Farms, LLC (Tenn. Ct. App. 2012). “; Vermont, Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 12, §§ 5751 to 5753; Virginia, Va.”

Appeal of Trickett (Vt. Super. Ct. 2005). “1[1] This statutory provision has similar purposes to, but is separate from, the “Vermont Right-to-Farm Law,” 12 V.S.A. §§ 5751—53. The Right-to-Farm Law is extensively addressed in both the Supreme Court and Superior Court decisions cited above.”

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