Image Credit: Danny Kitzman
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
West Tennessee farmer, Danny Kitzman, is being penalized by officials in Madison County who say that his trailers, tillage implements and track hoe parked on his soybean field are a threat to local code.
The county, continuously ranked as one of the highest in the nation for per capita crime, encompasses the cities of Jackson, Medon, Pinson, Beech Bluff, Three Way, Oakfield and Mercer.
“Just when you think you’ve heard it all, you haven’t,” Kitzman said in an interview with AgWeb. “We’ve got murders and robberies in serious numbers in this county, but I’m the one facing fines or seizure or who knows what, all because I parked my agriculture equipment on my own land. This could happen to you, too.”
In addition to soybean production, Kitzman’s ventures include farm equipment auctions, land sales and house construction.
“I’m just a guy trying to make a living in agriculture and I’m willing to do anything and everything,” said Kitzman. “I’m a small, small farmer, but I hope to farm fulltime somewhere down the road.”
Due to the sheer amount of rain West Tennessee got during the first part of this year, Kitzman has not been the only farmer to encounter planting issues.
Regarding his 11-acre soybean field alongside Highway 70, Kitzman is still unsure whether he will end up planting this year.
“Maybe it’ll end up getting planted this year…maybe not,” he said. “I took a tiny bit of the field, put down some gravel, and parked some vehicles—equipment I use for or in all my agribusiness operations.”
Kitzman resides and keeps his business headquarters in Crockett County.
“So this was a great overflow location for me. It’s a rural parking spot so far out that it’s almost not in Madison County,” said Kitzman.
There are no buildings, signs or electricity on the property. Only the farming equipment.
On March 18th, Kitzman received a letter from Madison County officials stating that he was in violation of local code and ordering him to remove all his agriculture machinery from the farmland.
“I got a call from the codes department and they said the presence of the equipment was violating their code and I was running a business. I said, ‘Farm equipment on a farm is breaking code? […] I use this machinery in my farm income every year, one way or another,’” said Kitzman. “Long as I live, I’ll never forget their reply: ‘You don’t farm enough or make enough money for that amount of equipment, so you have to move it from the side of the highway.’”
Kitzman stated that he found this “kinda odd” considering the 200-acre solar farm right next to his property which “sure as hell isn’t farming and sticks out as an eyesore like nothing else.”
“I’d bet everything that if I had solar panels sitting on my farm instead of farm equipment, the county would be in full support and make certain I had full code approval,” he said.
According to Madison County, Kitzman’s failure to comply could lead to them taking legal action in the form of seeking an injunction and a judgement against him for any and all costs related to enforcement of the Zoning Resolution “including civil penalties set forth under the law” because the county does not consider Kitzman to have “a real agriculture business by the code.”
In a May 19th email to county officials, Kitzman referenced various local codes to support his agribusiness status.
Then on May 30th, Kitzman received a certified letter from the county stating that he could move all the equipment within the next two days or face legal action.
“Is the county going to try and ruin me because I parked tractors in my soybean field?” Kitzman asked. “How did we get to a point where the county gets to decide how many pieces of equipment I can park? Does the county want my land? Is someone else pushing this?”
“Who’s to say you won’t be next with some code violation for putting seed equipment or a spray trailer or bin storage beside your turnrow?” he continued. “This is nuts. […] We’re talking about rural Tennessee. There’s nothing out here in any of these fields to begin with—except farm equipment.”
Madison County Commissioner Gary Tippett (District 7) represents the area where the soybean field is and did reach out in the comment section after seeing Kitzman’s May 30th Facebook post about the situation, encouraging Kitzman to give him call.
That same day Madison County Mayor AJ Massey also commented on Kitzman’s post, saying “I’m working on this. Stay tuned…” to which Tippett responded, “So am I.”
No further information has come out regarding resolution of this situation at the time of this article’s publication.
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
