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An Ohio township is trying to regulate agriculture through zoning at the local level, and Farm Bureau is joining the fight to prevent that.

For more than 50 years, the state legislature has dictated that agriculture cannot be regulated through township or county zoning. But that isn't stopping Ross Township trustees from trying to bypass state law.

This summer the trustees in the Greene County township amended their zoning code to require that Meerland Dairy obtain a conditional use permit. The dairy, which plans to build a 2,100-cow operation in the township, had already obtained the required installation and operation permits from the state.

The dairy owners thought they were required to get the local conditional use permit and applied for it. The trustees promptly denied the permit, and the case worked its way into the legal system. The dairy owners sought an injunction against the zoning restrictions.

"The legislature has limited the power of townships and counties to regulate agriculture or agricultural buildings through zoning. No zoning certificate is required," said Nan Still, OFBF's director of agricultural law information. "They have to understand that they cannot regulate agriculture."

In early September, a Greene County Common Pleas Court judge held a hearing, and Farm Bureau filed a court document in support of the dairy.

Farm Bureau's document pointed out that the state has very stringent regulations for agriculture through the permitting process, which is administered through the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

"We have had many incidents of local governments trying to regulate agriculture through zoning. Usually they realize they can't do that after becoming aware of all the facets of agriculture or by getting an opinion from the Ohio attorney general. But in this case, the Ross Township trustees won't back down even though the law is clear," she said.

Still said that the township trustees are trying to change the definition of agriculture. The state definition of agriculture for townships and counties is broad enough to include confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). But the Ross Township trustees say CAFOs are not part of agriculture but agribusiness, which can require zoning permits under their definition.

Even if the township had granted the conditional use permit, it would have set a dangerous precedent, Still said.

"Because the permit is conditional, it means officials can come on the property at any time. It's constant regulation," she said.