Welcome to our Normal Farm Practices Resource Site!

This website is dedicated to providing information to Ontario farmers facing neighbour issues brought before the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board (NFPPB)

Disclaimer:  The information provided on this site is not, in any way, intended to serve as legal advice. Please consult your lawyer for legal advice.

Who we are…

We are an Ontario farm family situated on the northern edge of Burlington.  My husband’s family has farmed in the Burlington area since the early 1800′s. Over the past two years or so we have been dealing with a neighbour complaining about noise and vibration allegedly coming from both our on farm activities as well as our tractors using the public road.  These complaints culminated in a Normal Farm Practices Protection Board (NFPPB) hearing held in January of 2011. In early March of 2011 we received the Board’s decision.  Read our story for further details.

Why this website…

It is my hope that by sharing our experiences dealing with a complaining neighbour, and the NFPPB process, that I can provide some insight and resource information for other farmers finding themselves in a similar situation. Our family is very grateful for the many farmers, public officials, and members of the community who came forth to offer their support to us during this hearing, from providing testimony to simply being there.

Who cares about our hearing?  You should!  Here’s why…

The decisions that are handed down by the NFPPB are not necessarily “precedents” for future hearings, however they are said to serve as “guidelines”  for the Board to use when presented with similar circumstances.

Though most NFPPB cases relate to issues that pertain to activities that are taking place on the Respondent’s farm, our neighbour’s complaints revolve mainly around traffic, noise and vibration generated by our tractors on the public road.  If the Board were to pass down a decision which would in some way restrict our use of public roads, this has the potential to impact farmers province wide!  The fact that the Board agreed to hear a case dealing with a public road at all is, in essence, a harbinger of things to come.