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Right to Farm in Merced County, CA (2026)

2 rules for unincorporated Merced County, California.

Verified from official government sources

Note: These county rules apply to unincorporated areas of Merced County. If you live within an incorporated city, that city's own rules apply: see the city list below.

Farm Nuisance Protection

Unincorporated Merced County requires a recorded Certificate of Public Acknowledgement of Farming Activities on final subdivision maps near agricultural land, warning future buyers, lessees, and lenders that dust, odors, noise, and chemical use from nearby farming are normal and expected.

Merced County Right-to-Farm Notice Certificate

Some Restrictions

Merced County Code § 17.08.080(H)

H. Certificate of Public Acknowledgement of Farming Activities. 1. Where required by this title, every final map shall have a certificate placed on the map, or shall record by separate instrument, which notifies future buyers, lessees, or financiers of the following: The property described on the final map is in the vicinity of land utilized for agricultural purposes, and residents of this prop...

Agricultural Zoning Protection

Merced County protects farming operations by requiring new houses to sit 200 feet back from land used for agricultural production, and by requiring the same 200-foot buffer when agricultural land itself is subdivided next to an existing home. The rule runs through the Agricultural Zone standards and the Subdivision Code, backed by recorded right-to-farm notice requirements.

Merced County Right-to-Farm Agricultural Setbacks

Some Restrictions

Merced County Code § 18.10.040(M)(1)

M. Setbacks. 1. Agricultural Setback Requirement for Residential Uses. New residential dwellings and/or other habitable structure shall be set back so as to provide a physical separation of 200 feet, as measured from the dwelling or other habitable structure to any abutting parcels used for agricultural production. "Agricultural production," as used herein, means either an existing agricultur...

All Merced County ordinances

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