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C) r e a. s <br />♦ real property assessments for en- <br />agri ✓i. ltti.ra distrtct: rolled farms must be based on -the <br />ad's value for a rictiltural produc- <br />td relief and <br />protection. from tion rather than on. its development <br />value. The law even has a special <br />nuisance suits provision allowing farms outside of <br />agricultural districts to apply for this <br />benefit. The New fork State Department of Agriculture and Markets <br />estimates that participating farmers collectively save more than $70 <br />million a year in tax payments to local governments. <br />Perhaps the primary motivation for registering a farm is the protection <br />farmers het from nuisance suits. Section 308 of the Agricultural Dis- <br />tricts .Law is the right-to-farm provision, whictl states that sound. ag- <br />ricultural practices undertaken in an agricultural district shall not <br />constitute a private nuisance. Farms not enrolled in. an agricultural <br />district, however, do not qualify for this protection. So before calling <br />a lawyer, neighbors should make sure the farmer is really- doing some- <br />thing he or she shouldn't be doing. Otherwise, if the farm is regis- <br />tered in an agricultural district, there is no basis for a "nuisance" le- <br />gal action. (See The Resources at the end of the manual for places to <br />contact about ahricult Lira I districts and sound farming practices.) <br />"1`17ink about all those chemicals floating in the Cllr every time they <br />spray the coat. It Taust be dangerous. I've told theTn. to cut it out. <br />INOW I'M going to file a snit, aTzd then they'll have to stop What <br />they've been doing all these years." <br />"Not so fast. The farmer has the right to grow that corn, even if <br />it means spraying the fields to keep out the bugs. If this is a nui- <br />sance claim, don't waste your time." <br />Well tlien, how do neighbors know if their complaints are valid? <br />For starters, they can talk to the farmer and ask for information. They <br />can contact the local Agricultural Farmland Protection Board (AFPBs <br />advise county government on agricultural issues and develop plans <br />to preserve arid. protect agriculture) or the local Cornell Cooperative <br />Extension office to learn more about the farming practice in question. <br />21 <br />Sew f� <br />