Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3603 – Right to Farm
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3603
- Agricultural activity: means a commercial enterprise of any agricultural related or associated entity. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3602
- Agricultural operation: means any agricultural facility or agricultural land which is being used for agricultural production or agricultural processing and includes any facility used for the production and processing of crops or products thereof, livestock or products thereof, farm-raised fish and fish products, wood, timber or forest products, fowl or plants for breeding or sales, and poultry or poultry products for commercial or industrial purposes. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3602
- Agricultural processing: means the processing of any agricultural product and includes, but is not limited to, the slaughtering and processing of livestock and poultry, the elevation and drying of grain, the processing of sugar cane, and the ginning of cotton. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3602
- Agricultural product: means crops, livestock, poultry, and aquacultural, floracultural, horticultural, silvicultural, or viticultural products. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3602
- Agricultural production: means the commercial production of any agricultural products and includes the planting of cover crops, the leaving of land idle for the purpose of participating in government programs, normal crop or livestock rotation procedures, and the use of agricultural support services. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3602
- Established date of operation: means the date on which the agricultural operation, including forestry activities, commenced operation. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3602
- Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3602
- Traditional farm practices: means those accepted and customary standards established by similar agricultural operations under similar circumstances using established best management practices. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3602
A. The legislature hereby declares that persons who are engaged in agricultural operations in accordance with generally accepted agricultural practices or traditional farm practices should be protected from legal actions brought by persons who subsequently acquire an interest in any land in the vicinity of the agricultural operation and from any nuisance action, public or private, against the agricultural production of an agricultural product or an agricultural operation including but not limited to, agricultural processing, and any agricultural activity involved, directly or indirectly, in the production of food for human consumption or for animal food.
B. No agricultural operation shall be deemed to be a nuisance in any action brought under the provisions of Civil Code Article 669, La. Rev. Stat. 33:361, La. Rev. Stat. 40:14, or any other grant of authority authorizing the suppression or regulation of public or private nuisances if the agricultural operation is conducted in accordance with generally accepted agricultural practices or traditional farm practices, and any one of the following applies:
(1) The person bringing the action acquired the interest in the land or improvements alleged to be affected by the nuisance after the date on which an agricultural operation was in existence.
(2) The agricultural operation was established prior to any change in the character of the property in the vicinity of the agricultural operation.
(3) The agricultural operation has existed for one year or more and the conditions or circumstances alleged to constitute a nuisance have existed substantially unchanged since the established date of operation.
C. When an agricultural operation has been established, the protection from nuisance actions provided by this Section shall include the protection of similar agricultural operations engaged in as a result of the normal rotation of crops, or livestock, or both.
Added by Acts 1983, No. 95, §1; Acts 2008, No. 515, §1.