Sauk County, WI Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Sec. 22.71(2)(a)3.g, PUD cluster developments
- State law referenced
- Wis. Stats. § 823.08 right-to-farm
- Applies to
- certified survey maps for cluster developments
- AG district
- Sec. 7.013 mixes housing and farm operations
- EA district
- Sec. 7.014 certified under Wis. Stats. ch. 91
Summary
Sauk County's own protection for agriculture is a disclosure requirement, not a standalone ordinance. Sec. 22.71(2)(a)3.g requires every certified survey map for a planned-unit-development cluster development to carry a printed statement warning buyers that Wisconsin's right-to-farm law, Wis. Stats. § 823.08, limits their ability to complain about noise, odor, dust or machinery traffic from farms already operating nearby.
g.A statement on the face of the certified survey map that reads as follows: "Through Wis. Stats. § 823.08, the Wisconsin Legislature has adopted a right to farm law. This statute limits the remedies of owners of later established residential property to seek changes to nearby pre-existing agricultural practices. Active agricultural operations are now taking place and are planned to continue on lands in the vicinity of this CSM. These active agricultural operations may produce noises, odors, dust, machinery traffic or other conditions during daytime and evening hours."
Full Breakdown
Sauk County zones farmland through two districts written into Chapter 7: the agriculture (AG) district, described in Sec. 7.013 as a mix of residential housing and farm operations, and the exclusive agriculture (EA) district in Sec. 7.014, which the county certifies under Wis. Stats. ch. 91, Wisconsin's farmland preservation program, to keep land in commercial agriculture. Neither section, on its own, writes a right-to-farm protection; the county's actual right-to-farm language sits in the subdivision chapter instead. Sec. 22.71 governs planned unit developments (PUDs), including the cluster-development option that lets a landowner carve one to three lots out of a larger parcel using density credits.
Under Sec. 22.71(2)(a)3.g, the certified survey map for that cluster development must carry a printed disclosure on its face warning future lot buyers that Wisconsin's right-to-farm law, Wis. Stats. § 823.08, limits how much a newly arrived residential owner can do to force changes to agricultural practices already underway nearby, and that those operations may produce noise, odors, dust and machinery traffic during the day and evening. The Sauk County Department of Conservation, Planning and Zoning, acting as the Agency under this chapter, and the town in which the land sits both must approve the cluster development and its preservation area easement before the survey map records with the Sauk County Register of Deeds.
The disclosure statement is mandatory for this subdivision type; the code does not extend the same printed warning to ordinary lot splits outside a PUD.
Violations & Fines
A certified survey map for a PUD cluster development that omits the Sec. 22.71(2)(a)3.g right-to-farm statement is not in compliance with the chapter's recording requirements, and the Sauk County Department of Conservation, Planning and Zoning can withhold approval of the survey map or the preservation area easement until the disclosure is added; the chapter does not list a separate dollar forfeiture for this specific omission.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Sauk County have a right-to-farm ordinance?
What is Sauk County's AG zoning district?
What is the exclusive agriculture district?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sauk County
Compare Sauk County to another location·View the Wisconsin right to farm overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.