Source: http://www.beardstclair.com/blog-author/staff.html?cp=4
Timestamp: 2017-05-29 11:29:43
Document Index: 438847416

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 22', '§ 52', '§ 25', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 22']

It is a common story in Idaho that has been repeated over and over. Developer buys farm ground outside of City. Developer builds subdivision and sells lots. City folk buy lot and build dream home in subdivision with beautiful views of the neighboring farmer’s property.
Not long thereafter the city folk’s home is full of smoke from farmer burning his ditch. City folk are annoyed and shut the window. Then city folk notice a significant increase in the number of flies around the house and the distinct odor of manure. City folk grumble. Lastly, city folk are awakened at 2:00 in the morning by the steady thudding and clanking of farmer’s tractor baling hay. City folk put the pillow over their head and vow to call an attorney in the morning to rid themselves of the nuisance created by their neighbor, the farmer.
What the city folk don’t know, and what Idaho law protects, is the right of the farmer to operate his farm without the threat of a nuisance lawsuit.
The Idaho legislature expanded the protections of Idaho’s Right to Farm Act in 2011. The law states that “[n]o agricultural operation … shall be or become a nuisance, private or public, by any changed conditions in or about the surrounding nonagricultural activities after it has been in operation for more than one (1) year, when the operation, facility or expansion was not a nuisance at the time it began, or was constructed.” Idaho Code § 22-4503.
Normally a landowner could sue a neighboring landowner if the neighbor’s activities constituted a nuisance and interfered with the landowner’s comfortable enjoyment of his or her property. Idaho Code § 52-111. However, the Idaho legislature has recognized the importance of agriculture to the State of Idaho and has prohibited anyone from suing and making a claim for nuisance where a farmer is engaged in normal farming practices (no protection is given to the farmer who operates his farming activities in an improper or negligent fashion). Activities that are protected by Idaho’s right to farm bill include:
• plowing, tilling, and preparing soil;
• burning fields and ditches as permitted by law;
• applying pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals;
• planting, irrigating, and harvesting;
• breeding, hatching, raising, producing, feeding and keeping livestock;
• processing and packing ag products;
• noise, odors, dust fumes, light and other conditions associated with an ag operation;
• selling ag products at a roadside market.
A farmer or rancher sued for his activities can recover his attorney’s fees and costs for having to defend himself in an action.
In summary, the Right to Farm Act is an important law that protects farmers and ranchers and their agricultural activities. - Lance J. Schuster is an attorney at Beard St. Clair Gaffney. He and his wife raise cattle and kids on their small farm near Idaho Falls. He can be reached at lance@beardstclair.com.
Staff at 5:18 PM
Agribusiness	Friday, April 6, 2012
Last summer I stood on my front porch and looked out onto the county road in front of my home. Standing in the middle of the road was a lone Holstein heifer. I chuckled, happy that for once it was not my cow. I then hollered at my kids and we walked out to the road. There were no cars on the road, so we gently walked the heifer back to our neighbor’s property and put her in an empty corral. In many parts of Idaho cows, horses and sheep have as much right to be on the road as a car. Idaho is an "open range" state. Idaho law defines "open range" as all uninclosed lands outside of cities, villages and herd districts, upon which cattle by custom, license, lease or permit, are grazed or permitted to roam. Idaho Code § 25-2118. In an open range, livestock may roam freely. If you live in an open range, you are responsible to “fence out” livestock if you want to keep range animals off of your property (and your front porch).
Staff at 5:16 PM
Agribusiness	Friday, October 7, 2011
June and July are months in which our family dutifully weeds the yard and garden. However, August brings a flurry of family activities. There is the family vacation, the County Fair, the family reunion, the oil change, the flat tire, the raspberries. On top of this school starts soon and there are the backpacks, the shoes, the clothes, the paper, the pencils, the binders, the registration, and don’t forget back to school night at the elementary school, the middle school, and the high school.
By the time August has come and gone my garden has been transformed from neat rows of vegetables to a solid mat of weeds. Additional weeds line my driveway, grow tall around the barn, and envelope the tractor. Weeds hide my trailer, my canoe, and an old lawn mower. Weeds also line the ditch and the edge of the alfalfa field. A few of the weeds on my property are bona fide noxious weeds. Canada thistle, morning glory, and more.
Idaho law obligates me as a landowner to control noxious weeds on my land and property. Idaho Code § 22-2407(1). In addition, the cost of controlling those weeds is my responsibility as the landowner. Id. at (2).
Counties are given the duty and authority by Idaho law to have noxious weeds controlled within a county. Idaho Code § 22-2406(1). Counties can quarantine a property and stop the movement of noxious weed infested items. If necessary, a County can also destroy crops that are infested with noxious weeds. Usually, however, a County will notify a landowner in writing of a problem and demand that noxious weeds be destroyed, lest the County do the work and bill the landowner for it.
Any person who fails to control noxious weeds on their property can, in addition to paying the costs of control, be assessed a civil fine. However, no civil fines can be assessed without first giving a landowner notice and opportunity for a hearing. Idaho Code § 22-2409(2)(b).
Additionally, and perhaps as a last resort, a landowner who fails to comply with the noxious weed requirements and rules for the State of Idaho can be charged with a misdemeanor. The noxious offender can be fined up to $3,000 and jailed for up to twelve months. Idaho Code § 22-2409(1). Any person who interferes with state or county efforts to control noxious weeds can also be charged.
In summary, next summer when the kids complain about weeding the garden, remind them that if they don’t, they could go to jail!
- Lance J. Schuster is an attorney at Beard St. Clair Gaffney. He and his wife raise kids and cattle on their small farm near Idaho Falls. He can be reached at 523-5171 or lance@beardstclair.com
Staff at 5:13 PM
Agribusiness	Friday, December 2, 2011
Oh, give me a homeWhere the buffalo roam,Where the deer and the antelope play… Many of our grandparents or great-grandparents came west with the promise of land. They came west to carve a new home out of the land where the deer and the antelope play. They needed land for farming and land for grazing livestock.
Lastly, regardless of the agreement, whether a purchase or a lease, the law typically requires the arrangement to be in writing to be enforceable. A good well-written purchase and sale agreement or lease can be as important to the success of your farming and ranching operation as the land itself. - Lance J. Schuster is a lawyer at Beard St. Clair Gaffney. He and his wife raise kids and cattle on their small farm near Idaho Falls. He can be reached at 523-5171 or lance@beardstclair.com
Staff at 5:02 PM
Agribusiness	Friday, October 5, 2012
Agribusiness	Friday, January 6, 2012
Agribusiness	Friday, May 4, 2012
Staff at 4:35 PM
Agribusiness	Thursday, February 2, 2012
Staff at 4:30 PM
Agribusiness	Friday, November 2, 2012
Staff at 4:26 PM
Agribusiness	Friday, November 11, 2011
1. Dead Animal Pit. Dead animals can be hauled to an approved dead animal pit. IDAPA 02.04.17.030.05. Most counties have a dead animal pit that will accept carcasses. Vehicles used for transporting dead animals must be prepared so that no fluids seep from the vehicle during transport, and the dead animal must be concealed from public view during transport. Id. at .040.01-02. Also, vehicles hauling dead animals must travel directly to their destination (no stopping at the grocery store with a dead animal in the back of the pickup). Id. at .040.03. 2. Rendering. Dead animals can be taken to a rendering facility. The facility must be licensed and approved. Idaho currently has only one rendering facility located in Boise. IDAPA 02.04.17.030.03. 3. Burial. Dead animals can be buried on your land so long as every part of the animal is buried under at least three feet of earth and the animal is buried no closer than 300 feet from any water, well, lake or spring. Additionally, the buried animal must be at least 50 feet from property lines, 300 feet from residences, and 100 feet from roadways. IDAPA 02.04.17.030.04. 4. Composting/Incineration. Where approved by the Idaho Department of Agriculture, animals may be composted or incinerated. These methods require pre-approval and are rarely an option. IDAPA 02.04.17.030.06, Id. at .030.08.
Staff at 4:16 PM
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