Lincoln County, SD Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)

Section 154.056(B)(5) of the county's zoning ordinance makes the covenant a precondition, not a suggestion: it must be filed with the Register of Deeds on the parcel before any building permit issues for a new single-family residence in the A-1 Agriculture District, and the code prints the only wording the county will accept as a valid covenant. The required text tells buyers the property is in or near agricultural land, agricultural operations, or agricultural processing facilities, and that they may be subject to inconvenience or discomfort from lawful agricultural or agricultural-processing operations, listing cultivation, harvesting, livestock production, pesticide and herbicide application, fertilizer and animal-waste application, machinery operation, and irrigation among the covered activities, along with resulting noise, odors, fumes, dust, smoke, burning, vibration, insects, and rodents during any 24-hour period.

The covenant runs with the land: § 154.056(B)(5) extends it to all landowners, heirs, successors, and assigns, and bars removing it from the record title without the Lincoln County Planning Commission's consent. The provision sits inside the broader building-eligibility rule for the A-1 district, which caps new homes at one per quarter-quarter section, requires a minimum one-acre site with approved public road access, and requires the remaining land to stay in agricultural use, so the covenant is one condition among several the Planning and Zoning Department checks before a permit is issued.