Michigan citizens lose their right to farm or pursue beekeeping in their private backyards

‘Every U.S. state has laws on the books designed to protect farms from being declared “nuisances” by their neighbors, and Michigan is no exception. But in 2014, the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development exempted small farms from this protection with the stroke of a pen.
The revised rule states that local governments can, at their discretion (that is, arbitrarily), ban goats, chickens and beehives from any property that has a residence within 250 feet of its boundary, or that has 13 homes within one-eighth of a mile.
Although media coverage at the time focused on how this would affect urban and backyard farmers, the rule change as written actually puts all small farmers at risk, even those in rural and agricultural areas. The only farms that seem safe are those in areas dominated by massive, sprawling agricultural operations – that is, those owned by Big Agriculture.’
Read more: Michigan citizens lose their right to farm or pursue beekeeping in their private backyards