Showing posts with label Ag farm markets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ag farm markets. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

New Virginia law protects farmers from meddling local officials - by By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D

New Virginia law protects farmers from meddling local officials - by By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D

Fauquier County officials forced family farmer Martha Boneta to cease selling produce from her own 64-acre farm, and so she took action and had Commonwealth law changed... 

Fauquier County Virginia officials threatened a family farmer, Martha Boneta with $5,000 per-day fines for hosting a birthday party for eight 10-year-old girls without a permit...


… opponents of the bill, including well-funded environmental organizations and power-hungry county governments – both determined to preserve strict land-use controls – reportedly employed lobbyists to kill the bill.  In the end, highly motivated citizens triumphed over highly paid lobbyists...





By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D. March 31, 2014


In a hard-fought and stunning victory for family farmers and property rights throughout the Commonwealth, Gov. Terry McAuliffe on March 5 signed into law legislation solidifying Virginia’s status as a right-to-farm state by limiting local officials’ ability to interfere with normal agricultural operations.


The governor’s signature marks the latest chapter in a swirling controversy that attracted nationwide attention in 2012 when the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors forced family farmer Martha Boneta to cease selling produce from her own 64-acre farm. No longer allowed to sell the vegetables she had harvested, Boneta donated the food to local charities lest it go to waste.


Fauquier County officials threatened Boneta with $5,000 per-day fines for hosting a birthday party for eight 10-year-old girls without a permit, and advertising pumpkin carvings. Seeing the county’s action against Boneta as a brazen effort to drive her off her land, Virginians from all walks of life rallied to her defense.  Supporters gathered in Warrenton, the county seat, for a peaceful “pitchfork protest” to vent their anger over what an out-of-control local government had done to a law-abiding citizen....


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By contrast, opponents of the bill, including well-funded environmental organizations and power-hungry county governments – both determined to preserve strict land-use controls – reportedly employed lobbyists to kill the bill.  In the end, highly motivated citizens triumphed over highly paid lobbyists...

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