Erie County Farm Bureau succeeds in passing RTF laws in towns

When Erie County Farm Bureau determined that every town would benefit from a Right to Farm Law, its mission was set.

It set a difficult, but achievable goal of getting every town in Erie County to adopt a local law. Why? Because a good Right to Farm Law promotes a strong agriculture and a strong agricultural base in a town makes for a strong town.Today, the Erie County Farm Bureau has gone past the half-way point to its goal. Fourteen of the 27 towns in the county now have a local law.

A few of the towns adopted what Hans Mobius, president of the Erie County Farm Bureau, describes as the ultimate goal. These towns have a Right to Farm law as well as a Right to Farm Committee and road signs Eposted at the town limits. These “higher order” activities show a more significant commitment to strengthening agriculture’s position within a town.

Without a committee to oversee development in the town and to administer the Right to Farm law, the law itself lacks teeth. “Town boards can take a lot off their agendas by having a Right to Farm Committee determine first if proposed development is good for or detrimental to agriculture”, Mobius said. “Why not have an extra set of eyes looking at the value of land use changes in your town?”

Once a law is firmly established, highway signs announcing that the town has a law demonstrate to all that a community prefers agriculture as a land use and is committed to seeing agriculture continue.

Such signs say to farmers looking to move into town that they have a support base in the town.

These signs discourage development that would be harmful to agriculture from entering the town. They inform yet others of the town’s commitment to a rural lifestyle (at least as it presently exists).

In January, Erie County Farm Bureau was recognized at the national level for efforts to enhance agriculture in its towns. The American Farm Bureau Federation awarded Erie County Farm Bureau honors in the County Activities of Excellence program. Five representatives of the county organization traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, to promote the importance of town Right to Farm laws to Farm Bureau members and others attending the national convention. While there, they had the chance to speak with numerous farmers and town and state officials from many states.

Whether Farm Bureau members in other states have started to promot local laws to protect agriculture remains to be seen. But, Erie County’s leaders do know that the idea has spread to adjacent counties and other towns across New York.

“If other counties use our model, they will see success”, Mobius stresses. “Once a town official sees that his counterparts in a nearby town are commended for protecting farms, they want to join the parade.” The parade is growing thanks to Hans and other Farm Bureau leaders from Erie County.

If your town should have a law but doesn’t or if you are a town official and would like such a law, please don’t hesitate to contact either Mobius or your local Farm Bureau officials for help.

Information about the Erie County Farm Bureau program and Hans’ contact information can be found on the county Web site attached to the New York Farm Bureau home page, www.nyfb.org.

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