By Noah Gilbert-Fuller, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets
In 2018, Act 143 established a statewide municipal land use category called Accessory On-Farm Business (AOFB), which restricted how municipalities could apply zoning regulations to AOFBs. These businesses can engage in the on-farm sale of agricultural products and host educational, recreational, or social events that promote agricultural activities or products, as a way to increase revenues and promote farm viability. The legislature recently passed Act 181, which expands an AOFB’s ability to sell qualifying products that they do not produce themselves and created related Act 250 exemptions for the construction of improvements for an AOFB.
Prior to the passing of Act 181, an AOFB looking to sell qualifying agricultural products had to ensure that at least half of their annual income was from the sale of products grown or produced on the farm where the business is located. Now, AOFBs involved in the sale of qualifying products are able to sell:
- Agricultural products produced on any farm, regardless of total annual sales;
i.e. maple syrup produced by a neighbor, strawberries grown down the road, with no threshold of how much income needs to come from items grown or produced on their own farm
- Products that name, describe, or promote the farm or Accessory On-Farm Business;
i.e. sweatshirts with the farm’s name and logo, a mug with the name of the on-site farm stay
- Bread and baked goods
i.e. pies baked with fruit grown on-site, bread sold alongside local cheeses
Additionally, there have been changes to the way Act 250 applies to improvements of structures related to AOFBs. Depending on what category of activity the proposed improvement is built for, the structure may gain partial or full exemptions from Act 250 permitting. The exemptions are as follows:
- Construction of improvements for the storage or sale of qualifying products are exempt from Act 250 permitting.
- Construction of improvements for the preparation or processing of qualifying products are exempt from Act 250 permitting, provided that more than 50% of the total annual sales of the prepared or processed qualifying products come from products produced on the farm where the business is located.
- It is important to note that the construction of improvements related to hosting events or farm stays do not gain exemptions through the changes in this law.
More information about AOFBs can be found at https://agriculture.vermont.gov/development/accessory-farm-businesses.&…;
For questions about Act 181 and how it affects AOFBs, please contact Noah Gilbert-Fuller at Noah.Gilbert-Fuller@vermont.gov or (802) 505-3407.
Pictured: Green Mountain Girls Farm store in Northfield. Numerous jars of maple syrup, honey, and vinegars are on a shelf, and a fridge stocked with vegetables can be seen