Farm Protection

A farm for purposes of this section shall be farmland used for bona fide agriculture, as defined in § 60102 of this Title. No person who is engaged in agricultural use of farmland may be forced or required to stop such farming activities because of changes in the usages of surrounding lands, nor because of zoning changes.

(a)Any farm, as defined above, shall be deemed a preferred use of the land and, for so long as the land continues in production and continues to be used for agricultural purposes, said land shall be considered authorized as a farming area not withstanding changes in zoning or changes COL1/11/2022 CH. 60 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE in the usage and characteristics of the neighborhood in which it is located.

(b)Any farm which is authorized herein for agricultural usage may continue to be used in a manner consistent with the traditional agricultural uses of the land in the past.

(c)If a farm as defined herein has been used for agricultural purposes within the previous two

(2)years, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the usage of the land is continuous and that there has been no abandonment of the farming operations on the land. Any time the land is not being used for agricultural purposes for two

(2)consecutive years, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that there has been an abandonment of the usage of the land for agricultural purposes.

(d)When land which was previously used for farming is no longer used for farming, and the agricultural operations have been abandoned as defined herein, the land shall be subject to the zoning laws and restrictions on use to the same extent as if it had never been used for agricultural purposes. The courts shall not order the cessation of agricultural usage for a farm, as defined herein, on the basis of inconvenience or discomfort which such usage may cause the neighbors of adjoining property, if such usage was originally commenced in a lawful manner.

(e)The provisions of this section do not override or supersede any existing laws which govern the use of pesticide or herbicide near populated areas.

(f)The definition of a farmer for the purpose of this section shall be as defined by provision II.1 of the Rules for Compensation to Farmers for Crop Damages in Section 2 of P. L. 22-64.