Jackson, NJ Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)

Section 244-176 defines COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE as production principally for sale of crops, dairy, livestock, poultry, bees and nursery or floral products, and FARM as any single or multiple parcel actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use, including cropland, pasture, farm ponds and farm roads. Protected activities include irrigation pumps, aerial and ground spraying, tractors, chemical fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides, composting and on-site organic waste disposal, and keeping horses, cows, other grazing livestock, fowl and swine consistent with Board of Health regulations. Livestock fencing tied to an active farm use needs a permit but no fee, and farmers may erect barns, storage buildings and equipment buildings related to the operation if built to Township building codes.

Where a developer proposes 10 or more homes or a multifamily subdivision within 500 feet of an active or farm-zoned property, § 244-176(E) requires written disclosure to purchasers that they are near an active farm subject to usual noise, odor, dust and fumes, and requires the developer to erect and maintain at least a 50-foot buffer protecting both the existing farm and the new homes, with attention to drainage so development does not cause flooding on farmland. The ordinance states these protections are meant to guide interpretation of all other Township ordinances in favor of continued farming.