Elko County, NV Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)

Title 12, Chapter 4 of the Elko County Code is the Elko County Right to Ranch and Farm Ordinance, adopted as Ord. 2014-01 and effective 2-19-2014. Section 12-4-5 is its operative nuisance shield for unincorporated Elko County, Nevada.

Subsection (A) says an agricultural activity that does not violate a federal, state or local law, ordinance or regulation, and is not negligent or improper, constitutes good, generally accepted agricultural practice, citing Nevada Revised Statutes 40.140(2) and 202.450(5). Subsection (B) provides that agricultural activities established before nonagricultural activities are reasonable and are not a nuisance unless there are substantial adverse effects on public health, safety or welfare. Subsection (C) protects against changed conditions: after the operation has run for more than one year, and was not a nuisance when it began or was built, later nonagricultural development nearby does not turn it into one, subject to the same substantial adverse effects exception.

The definitions in § 12-4-4 set the reach. An agricultural operation must be properly zoned and permitted. Covered activity includes livestock ranching, crop production, seasonal burning as permitted by the fire marshal, and unexpected or unusual traffic, sounds, aromas, particulate matter, emissions and illumination, and agricultural activity twenty four hours a day, three hundred sixty five days a year.

The chapter does not displace other rules. Under § 12-4-3 it does not modify other laws, ordinances or regulations relative to nuisances, zoning, or the division of land. Under § 12-4-6, a seller of real property adjacent to or within line of sight of agricultural properties must give the buyer a written disclosure notice, signed by the buyer and recorded with the deed, and the county assessor prints a Right to Ranch and Farm statement on annual property tax bills.