Forsyth County, NC Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)

Sec. S. 106-735 through 106-744) and in Chapter 153A. Sec. 22-2 states the district system's purpose plainly: it exists to decrease the likelihood of legal disputes, such as nuisance actions between farm owners and their neighbors, and to increase protection from non-farm development and other negative impacts on properly managed farms in the unincorporated county, the Village of Tobaccoville, and the Town of Lewisville. Sec. 22-3 creates a seven-member Agricultural Advisory Board, at least four of whom must actively farm in the county, to run the program and rule on applications.

To qualify land for a district, Sec. 22-4 requires a minimum five-acre tract in agricultural production, and Sec. S. S. 160D-903, managed under Natural Resources Conservation Service erosion-control practices, and covered by a conservation agreement barring nonfarm use or development for at least ten years, with a narrow exception for up to three lots meeting zoning and subdivision rules. Sec. 22-8 gives enrolled farms a procedural shield against condemnation or rezoning: any agency wanting to condemn or rezone land in a district must first ask the advisory board for a public hearing, wait up to 45 days for its findings, and then wait a further 120 days before formally initiating the action.

Sec. 22-9 requires the county's land records to flag every parcel within one-half mile of a district and to post signage along district roads at least every two miles.