Pennsylvania Right to Farm Act (Act 133 of 1982)

The Pennsylvania Right to Farm Act (Act 133 of 1982), codified at 3 P.S. §951 et seq., is one of the oldest state farm-protection statutes in the country. The Act provides that "agricultural operations" — defined broadly to include crop production, livestock, poultry, dairying, forestry, aquaculture, and direct-marketing — that have been in operation for one year or more and follow generally accepted normal agricultural operating practices may not be deemed a public or private nuisance based on changed conditions in or around the operation. 3 P.S. §954 also limits the power of municipalities: no ordinance may define or enforce as a public nuisance any agricultural operation lawfully conducted, and any ordinance restricting "direct commercial sales" of farm products on the farm itself is presumptively invalid. The Pennsylvania Attorney General is empowered under §954(b) to bring action against municipalities that adopt unauthorized ordinances. Amendments through Act 38 of 2005 further strengthened protections for Concentrated Animal Operations (CAOs) and authorized farmer recovery of attorney's fees in successful preemption challenges.

A municipality that adopts an ordinance violating the Right to Farm Act may be sued by the PA Attorney General, by farm operators, or by the State Conservation Commission. Successful farmers may recover attorney's fees under 3 P.S. §954. Nuisance suits against protected operations may be dismissed with prejudice and the plaintiff may be liable for the farmer's legal fees if the suit is found to violate the Act.