Merced County, CA Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)

080(H) requires every final subdivision map, where applicable under Title 17, to carry a Certificate of Public Acknowledgement of Farming Activities, either placed directly on the map or recorded by separate instrument. The certificate must notify future buyers, lessees, or financiers that the property is in the vicinity of land used for agricultural purposes and that residents may face inconvenience or discomfort from agricultural chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers, and from operations including animal husbandry, plowing, spraying, and burning that can generate dust, smoke, noise, insects, and odors.

The certificate further states that the county has established agriculture as a priority use in agricultural zones outside designated urban and service-center boundaries, and that nearby residents should be prepared to accept inconvenience from normal, necessary agricultural operations. 080(H)(2) limits this requirement to properties within the A-1, A-1-40, or A-2 agricultural zones, or within 1,000 feet of a Specific Urban Development Plan, Rural Residential Center, Highway Interchange Center, or Agricultural Service Center boundary shown on the General Plan Land Use Map. 270(C)(4)(c) requires one before a short-term rental tied to an agricultural tourism enterprise can be permitted.