{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-413.072","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 413.072","heading":"Relationship of agricultural and silvicultural operations to law of nuisance","body":"and trespass -- Preemption of local ordinances -- Sustainable agriculture and\nbest management practices.\n(1) It is the declared policy of the Commonwealth to conserve, protec t, and encourage\nthe development and improvement of its agricultural land and silvicultural land for\nthe production of food, timber, and other agricultural and silvicultural products.\nWhen nonagricultural land uses extend into agricultural and silvicultura l areas,\nagricultural and silvicultural operations often become the subject of nuisance suits\nor legal actions restricting agricultural or silvicultural operations. As a result,\nagricultural and silvicultural operations are sometimes either curtailed or fo rced to\ncease operations. Investments in farm and timber improvements may be\ndiscouraged. It is the purpose of this section to reduce the loss to the state of its\nagricultural and silvicultural resources by clarifying the circumstances under which\nagricultural and silvicultural operations may be deemed to be a nuisance or\ninterfered with by local ordinances or legal actions.\n(2) No agricultural or silvicultural operation or any of its appurtenances shall be or\nbecome a nuisance or trespass, private or publi c, or be in violation of any zoning\nordinance, or be subject to any ordinance that would restrict the right of the operator\nof the agricultural or silvicultural operation to utilize normal and accepted practices,\nby any changed conditions in or about the locality thereof after the same has been in\noperation for more than one (1) year, when the operation was not a nuisance at the\ntime the operation began. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply\nwhenever a nuisance, trespass, or zoning violation res ults from the negligent\noperation of an agricultural or silvicultural operation or its appurtenances.\n(3) (a) For the purposes of this section, \"agricultural operation\" includes, but is not\nlimited to, any facility for the production of crops, livestock, e quine, poultry,\nlivestock products, poultry products, horticultural products, and any generally\naccepted, reasonable, and prudent method for the operation of a farm to obtain\na monetary profit that complies with applicable laws and administrative\nregulations, and is performed in a reasonable and prudent manner customary\namong farm operators. Agricultural practices protected by this section shall\ninclude, but not be limited to, fertilizer application, the application of\npesticides or herbicides that have been approved by public authority, planting,\ncultivating, mowing, harvesting, land clearing, and constructing farm\nbuildings, roads, lakes, and ponds associated with a farming operation.\n(b) 1. An agricultural operation may include the practice of sustainable\nagriculture.\n2. For purposes of this section, \"sustainable agriculture\" includes science -\nbased practices that:\na. Are supported by research and the use of technology;\nb. Are demonstrated to lead to broad outcomes -based performance\nimprovements that meet the needs of the present; and\nc. Improve the ability of future generations to meet their needs while\nadvancing progress toward environmental, social, and economic\ngoals and the well -being of agricultural producers and rural\ncommunities.\n3. Sustainable agric ulture may use continuous improvement principles,\nwith goals that include:\na. Increasing agricultural productivity;\nb. Improving human health through access to safe, nutritious, and\naffordable food; and\nc. Enhancing agricultural and surrounding environments, including\nwater, soil, and air quality, biodiversity, and habitat preservation.\n(4) For the purposes of this section, \"silvicultural operation\" includes timber harvest,\nsite preparation, slash disposal i ncluding controlled burning, tree planting,\nprecommercial thinning, release, fertilization, animal damage control, reasonable\nwater resource management, insect and disease control in forest land, and any other\ngenerally accepted, reasonable, and prudent pr actice normally employed in the\nmanagement of the timber resource for monetary profit. A silvicultural operation\ninherently includes lengthy periods between harvests and shall be deemed\ncontinuously operating so long as the property supports an actual or d eveloping\nforest.\n(5) An agricultural or silvicultural operation shall not lose its status by reason of a\nchange of ownership or a cessation of operation of no more than five (5) years or\none (1) year after the expiration of a state or national program con tract, either in\nwhole or in part, nor shall it lose its status by reason of changes of crops or methods\nof production due to the introduction and use of new and generally accepted\ntechnologies which allow the operator to continue an existing agricultural or\nsilvicultural corporation, unless the operation is substantially changed.\n(6) The provisions of this section shall not affect the right of any person, firm, or\ncorporation to recover damages for any injuries or damages sustained by them on\naccount of pollution of the waters of any stream or ground water of the person, firm,\nor corporation.\n(7) Any and all ordinances of any unit of local government now in effect or hereafter\nadopted that would make an agricultural or silvicultural operation or its\nappurtenances a nuisance per se, or providing for abatement thereof as a nuisance, a\ntrespass, or a zoning violation in the circumstance set forth in this section shall be\nvoid. However, the provisions of this subsection shall not apply whenever a\nnuisance results from the negligent operation of any such agricultural operation or\nany of its appurtenances.\n(8) Any administrative regulation promulgated by any agency that establishes standards\nfor harvesting or producing agricultural crops in a sustainable manner shall be based\non the principles outlined in this section and shall allow the use of best management\npractices developed under KRS 224.71-100 to 224.71-140.","path":["KRS Chapter 413"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=17860","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:36Z","sha256":"b19e7c2663eb02441b9ba4d8a2f22fd575efedaa768811206b9a47ad21f42ec8","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-413.070","next":"us-ky/krs-413.075"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}