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

Section 25-1 recognizes the right to farm all land as a natural right, though it remains subject to the Piscataway Township Zoning Ordinance, livestock-raising restrictions, State and Township Health and Sanitary Codes, and regulations of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Section 25-2 defines the right to farm broadly to include large irrigation pumps, aerial and ground seeding and spraying, large tractors, numerous farm laborers, chemical fertilizers and pest controls, and grazing by animals, subject to livestock restrictions found elsewhere in the Code.

Section 25-3 is the operative nuisance shield: the hours and days of these activities are not restricted, so long as they are reasonable and necessary for the particular farming, livestock or fowl production and conducted according to generally accepted agricultural practices as determined by the Rutgers University School of Agriculture. The resulting noise, odors, dust and fumes are specifically permitted as part of exercising the right, so a Piscataway farm cannot be forced to curtail spraying or harvesting because of weekend or nighttime complaints. Section 25-4 explains the Township's rationale: any temporary inconvenience to neighbors is outweighed by farming's benefits to open space, the countryside and clean air, and by continuing agricultural production in Piscataway and New Jersey.

Section 25-5 imposes an affirmative disclosure duty: purchasers and users of property adjacent to a commercial farm must be advised of accepted farming activities, and that disclosure must be made part of the contract of sale and deed of conveyance.