Martha Boneta never dreamed that she would be at the center of a battle in Virginia that will have implications for every small farmer in America. I met her last year and wrote two articles about her battle with the board of supervisors in Fauquier County. I have featured Martha in my book, “U.N. Agenda 21: Environmental Piracy.”Delegate Scott Lingamfelter R-Woodbridge introduced HB 1430, the Boneta Bill, an amendment to the Right to Farm Act of July 1, 1981. HB 1430 will expand the definition of agricultural operations to include commerce of farm-to-business and farm-to-consumer sales, including art, literature, artifacts, furniture, food, beverage, and other items incidental to agricultural operations. Items which “constitute less than a majority amount of production or sales, or less than a majority of annual revenues from such sales, are defined as part of the agricultural operation.“The bill gives persons engaged in agricultural operations a cause of action against the county or any official or employee of the county for violations of the Right to Farm Act.” Two provisions of HB 1430 are retroactive to the Right to Farm Act of 1981: expansion of the definition of agricultural operation any ordinance directed at persons, property, or activity on land that is zoned agricultural or silvicultural that seeks to restrict free speech or the right to assembly, among other rights, is null and voidThe Boneta Bill will be heard on Monday, January 28, 2013 at 5 p.m. by the Virginia House Agricultural Committee at the Virginia State Capitol – “The Pitchfork Protest Comes to Richmond.”
via The Boneta Bill in Virginia to Protect the Right to Farm.
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