SB61 Summary: Alabama Family Farm Preservation Act

• Prohibits farms and farm operations from being declared public or private nuisances or violating municipal/county ordinances (except zoning ordinances) if operated lawfully and in conformance with generally accepted agricultural practices.

• Requires farm owners/operators to not act carelessly or wrongfully, reside on or actively participate in farm operations, and comply with applicable rules from Alabama Departments of Agriculture, Environmental Management, and Public Health, plus federal EPA and USDA regulations.

• Restricts new or expanded Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations for swine by prohibiting any swine CAFOs that were not actively functioning on the act's effective date or capacity expansions of existing operations.

• Establishes specific nuisance conditions that constitute evidence of improper operations, including untreated waste, improper septic systems, diseased animals, unsanitary slaughter facilities, and abandoned equipment on roadsides.

• Exempts farms from nuisance designation for changes in ownership, farm product types, farm boundaries, or operational changes made to comply with local, state, or federal regulations.