Feedlot Nuisance and the Nebraska Right to Farm Act

Livestock operations located near private dwellings (including farmsteads) are often the subject of nuisance lawsuits because of the odor and flies generated. For many years the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that a feedlot was legally not a nuisance as long as it was properly maintained, regardless of the feedlot’s effect on neighbors. Beginning in 1975, however, the Court changed its position, ruling that feedlots could legally constitute a nuisance even if they were maintained with due care. If the feedlot is a nuisance, the operator could be required by the court: 1. to pay money damages to the neighbor, 2. to control the nuisance, or 3. to discontinue the feedlot