Living Next Door to a Farmer
These days more and more people are choosing to live in rural areas for lifestyle reasons, when traditionally rural areas have been used for farming and agricultural purposes.
This increases the potential for conflict to occur as quite often people pursuing a rural lifestyle often have different expectations or a lack of understanding of land use which clashes with modern farming practices.
All members of our community have the right to enjoy living in the rural environment. Sharing lifestyles in rural areas can be helped along by having informed and reasonable expectations of how the land in your area is used, applying a little bit of give and take, and understanding the rules governing land use.
Sharing Information and open communication are two of the easiest things you can do to avoid having a dispute and also in resolving disputes when they do arise.
Here are some helpful tips to help you live harmoniously in a rural area:
- Make it your priority to avoid having a dispute and conflict in the first place.
- Be courteous and considerate by taking what actions you can on your own property to minimise any impacts on the environment and your neighbours.
- Talk to your neighbours about any concerns you may have if an issue or misunderstanding arises – aiming to come to an agreement about how best to address issues that arise in a cooperative and positive manner is the best solution.
- Give consideration to issues raised by neighbours as their concerns may be valid. It is much better to deal with small issues as they arise than to let something escalate.
The Living Next Door to a Farmer Awareness Campaign commenced in 2019. The project objective is to educate and engage the community, with the aim to foster good neighbourly relations between farmers and residents in new and existing peri-urban locations.
The project is managed by Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Assocation, is proudly funded by the Tasmanian Government and supported by Local Government Association Tasmania (LGAT) and the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania (REIT).
Head to the Living Next Door to a Farmer website to access more information on this topic – Living Next Door to a Farmer