Yolo County is in the heart of California's almond, sunflower, and seed-crop belt and is a major beekeeping county. State law (California Food & Agricultural Code Sec. 29040) requires every beekeeper to register every apiary annually with the County Agricultural Commissioner via the statewide BeeWhere system. Beekeeping in agricultural zones is allowed by right; residential beekeeping is governed by general nuisance and setback principles in the County Code.
California treats beekeeping as a registered agricultural activity rather than a category subject to detailed local apiary ordinances. Under Food & Agricultural Code Sec. 29040, every person owning or in possession of one or more apiaries must register that apiary with the Agricultural Commissioner of each county where the apiary is located, by January 1 of each year or within 30 days of receiving the bees, and pay the registration fee. Registration is handled through the statewide BeeWhere system administered by the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the California Association of County Agricultural Commissioners. In Yolo County, registration is filed with the Yolo County Department of Agriculture (Office of the Agricultural Commissioner). Beekeeping is allowed by right in the A-1, A-N, and other agricultural zones under Sec. 8-2.304. On residential parcels, beekeeping is not separately prohibited but is subject to the general performance standards and nuisance rules in the County Code - hives should be set back from property lines, screened with vegetation or a flyway barrier where appropriate, and managed to avoid swarming and aggression. Apiary registration also enables the County Agricultural Commissioner to notify beekeepers before nearby pesticide applications, protecting hives during pollination season.
Keeping bees without registering with the County Agricultural Commissioner is a Food & Ag Code violation, subject to civil penalties under state law. Locally, a poorly managed apiary that creates a nuisance (aggressive bees, swarming, repeated stings) can be cited under the County Code and may be ordered abated. Pesticide applicators that injure unregistered hives are not liable for losses if the beekeeper failed to register.
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