An act relating to municipal regulation of agriculture

New Section 5 requires the Land Access and Opportunity Board to convene a stakeholder group to examine conflicts between landowners involving agricultural livestock in densely populated villages, towns, or cities, and how municipal regulation affects food security. The group must include membership-based agricultural organizations, the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, Vermont Farm to Plate, and planning/zoning experts.

The stakeholder group report is due to the House Committees on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and Forestry and on Environment, and the Senate Committees on Agriculture and on Natural Resources and Energy by January 31, 2027.

The study must specifically address whether municipal regulations have significantly restricted or functionally prohibited livestock raising, provide recommendations for determining sufficient land base for nutrient and waste management, and assess water quality impacts on parcels less than 4.0 contiguous acres.

The governor signature date (June 18, 2026) present in the As Enacted version is absent from the As Passed version, consistent with the passed version predating executive action.

The entire legal basis shifted from a Tier 1A area exception (where municipalities could regulate farming with limited restrictions on noise, smell, lighting, hours, traffic, and siting) to a land-area threshold system. Farms under 1 contiguous acre have livestock subject to municipal zoning; farms between 1 and 4 acres need Secretary determination of adequate land base for exemption; farms of 4+ acres are fully exempt from municipal zoning for RAPs-covered activities.

New swine waste provision: municipalities cannot prohibit swine or swine waste on RAPs farms, but may set performance standards in downtowns or village centers if waste causes significant adverse community impact and the Secretary cannot provide redress. Requires 30 days notice before enforcement. Swine waste is defined to include animal manure and absorbent bedding.

New plant growing exemption: municipalities cannot regulate cultivation of land for growing plants including food, fiber, Christmas trees, maple sap, horticultural, viticultural, and orchard crops. Cannabis and hemp are explicitly excluded from this protection.

Poultry protection expanded from a simple prohibition on banning poultry (excluding roosters) to a more detailed framework: no bylaw may prohibit or assess fees for poultry flocks (excluding roosters and ratites); minimum protection of 12 chickens or municipality-determined number (whichever is higher); municipalities may consider parcel size for additional limits; bylaws may set numerical limits below the RAPs minimum regardless of parcel size.

The House version's requirement for the Secretary to convene a stakeholder group and submit a report on municipal regulation of agriculture by December 15, 2026 was removed entirely from the enacted law.

Effective date changed from 'on passage' to July 1, 2026. Governor signed the bill on June 18, 2026.

New Section 4 directly amends the RAPs Rule (Section 3) to codify: specific livestock numbers triggering applicability on 4+ acre farms (4 equines, 5 cattle/bison, 15 swine, 15 goats, 15 sheep, 15 cervids, 50 turkeys, 50 geese, 100 laying hens, 250 broilers/quail, 3 camelids, 4 ratites, 30 rabbits, 100 ducks, 1,000 lbs cultured trout); Secretary authority to determine adequacy of land base for 1-4 acre farms; and a comprehensive list of agricultural practices exempt from municipal zoning including waste storage, maple sap collection, crop operations, drainage, buffer zones, farm structures, on-site fuel/power production, and livestock mortality management.

New definitions added: 'downtown' (area designated under chapter 76A or 139), 'village center' (same designation), and expanded 'farming' definition to include the RAPs Rule meaning. The House version's Tier 1A-related definitions were removed.

New Tier 1A area exception: municipalities may now regulate farming and farm structures in Tier 1A areas (established under 10 V.S.A. section 6034), but only for traffic/parking/safety and siting/setbacks of new infrastructure. They are explicitly prohibited from regulating noise, smell, lighting, or hours of operation.

The findings and intent section (Sec. 1(b)) changed the exception language from 'in accordance with 24 V.S.A. section 4412' to 'within Tier 1A areas established in accordance with 10 V.S.A. section 6034,' narrowing the scope of where municipalities retain regulatory authority.

Removed from section 4413(d)(1) the explicit protections for cultivation of food plants (orchard, viticultural, maple sap) and ornamental plants as separate 'shall not regulate' items. These protections were relocated to section 4412(16) as a prohibition on bylaws having the effect of restricting them.

The municipal regulation study (Sec. 4) was substantially broadened from examining livestock conflicts in densely populated areas to a comprehensive study of how municipal regulations affect the agricultural economy, statewide and regional food security, farm succession, establishment of new farming operations, and whether regulations have functionally prohibited farming. The group must also consider whether municipalities should be prohibited or restricted from regulating livestock and provide a model ordinance.

Section 4412(15) was replaced: the old poultry protection provision was moved to subsection (16), and the new subsection (15) establishes the Tier 1A farming regulation framework with eligibility requirements (must meet Required Agricultural Practices Rule threshold; parcels already farming as of July 1, 2026 or on conserved land are exempt).

The study report deadline was moved up from January 31, 2027 to December 15, 2026, and the submitting entity changed from 'the Secretary' to 'the Agency of Agriculture.'

The effective date changed from July 1, 2026 to 'on passage,' meaning the law takes effect immediately upon enactment rather than waiting several months.

Cross-references in section 4413(d)(1) were updated from 'except as described in section 4412(16)' to 'except as set forth in section 4412,' broadening the reference to cover all of section 4412 rather than just subsection (16).

The Tier 1A area exception was eliminated entirely. The introduced bill allowed municipalities to regulate farming and farm structures in Tier 1A areas (designated under 10 V.S.A. section 6034) with specific limits on what they could regulate (noise, smell, lighting, hours prohibited; traffic and siting permitted). This entire framework was removed.

A new exception in section 4412(16) allows municipalities to regulate ingress/egress of vehicular traffic and siting/setback requirements for farms on parcels less than 0.75 acres that were not operating as of July 1, 2026 and are not on conserved land.

New subsection 4413(d)(1)(C) explicitly protects the cultivation or use of land for growing plants for food (including orchard crops, viticultural crops, and maple sap) from municipal bylaw regulation, with a definition of 'food' as articles or agricultural commodities for human or animal consumption.

New subsection 4413(d)(1)(D) explicitly protects the cultivation of ornamental plants (as defined in 6 V.S.A. section 1101) from municipal bylaw regulation.

The study mandate was narrowed from a broad examination of all municipal agricultural regulation (including effects on food security, farm succession, new operations, and a model livestock ordinance) to specifically examining conflicts between landowners involving agricultural livestock activities in densely populated villages, towns, or cities. The stakeholder group must now include membership-based agricultural organizations, the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, Vermont Farm to Plate, and individuals with planning/zoning expertise.

The poultry protection was separated from the food-growing provision and given its own subsection (4412(15)), prohibiting bylaws that would prohibit raising, feeding, or managing poultry (excluding roosters) for personal use, donation, or sale.

The definition of 'farm structure' was changed from a standalone statutory definition to incorporating the definition from the Required Agricultural Practices Rule. A new definition of 'farming' was added, referencing 10 V.S.A. section 6001(22).

The study report deadline was changed from December 15, 2026 to January 31, 2027.

The effective date was changed from 'on passage' to July 1, 2026.

The study must now consider specific options including: expanding the Required Agricultural Practices Rule to regulate livestock (particularly stocking densities on parcels under 10 acres), using ordinances to address livestock, protecting the right to grow food for personal consumption including livestock, and creating enforcement rules modeled on the Cannabis Control Board approach based on health, safety, or industry integrity.