Twin Falls County, ID Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)

Twin Falls County Code § 8-2-2 defines "nuisance" for agricultural purposes as flies, odors, animal noises, tractor operations, discharges or other operations that may be annoying, unpleasant or obnoxious, then states that nothing in the Title limits the protections given to agricultural activities under chapter 45, title 22 of the Idaho Code, the state's Right To Farm Act. The county backs that up with an operative rule in the Agricultural Range Preservation (ARP) zone at § 8-6A-4(B): owners or occupants of new single-family homes must specifically waive any nuisance claims against agricultural operations, including livestock confinement operations, that already existed when the home was built, using the county's Nuisance Waiver form defined at § 8-2-2.

The same section protects the farm going forward: a single-family home built after the ordinance's adoption cannot force an existing agricultural or livestock confinement operation to change its expansion plans or its setbacks if the home sits inside that operation's defined setback area. The Planning Department requires the signed waiver as part of the dwelling permit application under § 8-6A-4(B)(4). If a general nuisance dispute arises outside the farm-protection context, § 8-9-16 lets the county prosecutor file a civil or criminal action, but only after 15 days' written notice to abate, and no act done under the express authority of a statute or ordinance can be deemed a nuisance unless that statute or ordinance itself allows it, a backstop that reinforces the right-to-farm shield for lawfully operating farms.