Does Tennessee's statutory definition of 'agriculture' apply to the adjective 'agricultural' in county authority and zoning statutes?

Plain-English summary

Senator Mike Bell asked a follow-up to Opinion 17-30: does the same statutory definition of "agriculture" that applies in property-tax statutes also apply to the adjective "agricultural" as used in county-authority and zoning statutes (§ 5-1-118(b), § 5-1-122, and § 13-7-114)? The AG said yes.

Two statutes give the same code-wide definition of "agriculture": § 1-3-105(a)(2)(A) and § 43-1-113(b)(1). Both apply throughout the Code unless context or a specific carve-out requires otherwise. Neither has a carve-out for the cited statutes.

The Code does not separately define the adjective "agricultural." Under § 1-3-105(b), undefined words get their natural and ordinary meaning. The ordinary meaning of "agricultural" is "of or relating to agriculture." So when a statute uses "agricultural," the analysis bounces back to the statutory definition of "agriculture." Both definitions apply, and they are identical, so applying either gives the same answer.

The Tennessee Supreme Court already did the work in Shore v. Maple Lane Farms, LLC, 411 S.W.3d 405, 427-31 (Tenn. 2013), where it applied a prior version of the statutory definition of "agriculture" to the term "agricultural uses" in § 13-7-114. Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 14-79 (Sept. 4, 2014) reached the same result for "agricultural enterprise" in § 13-7-114.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2017. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

The question matters in practical settings: agritourism, farm-based wedding venues, U-pick operations, and other public-facing farm activities are protected from county regulation under § 13-7-114 ("agricultural" uses). Whether a particular activity counts depends on the meaning of "agricultural" in those statutes.

The two definitions of "agriculture" reach four components: land/buildings/machinery used in commercial production of farm products and nursery stock; activity connected with that production; recreational and educational activities on land used for that production; and entertainment activities conducted in conjunction with, but secondary to, the commercial production. By tying "agricultural" back to that broad noun definition, the AG aligned the zoning and county-authority statutes with the property-tax framework and brought agritourism-style entertainment within the scope of "agricultural."

Shore v. Maple Lane Farms is the key Tennessee Supreme Court case applying the statutory definition. Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 14-79 traced the same logic for the term "agricultural enterprise."

Common questions

Q: Does "agricultural" in Tennessee zoning statutes mean what "agriculture" means in the property-tax statutes?
A: Yes, according to this opinion. The adjective "agricultural" is defined by the statutory noun "agriculture," which has the same broad meaning across the Code.

Q: Does the definition include agritourism activities?
A: Yes, within limits. The statutory definition reaches recreational and educational activities on commercial farm land and entertainment activities conducted in conjunction with but secondary to commercial production on such land.

Q: Where is the statutory definition of "agriculture"?
A: Two parallel sections, both substantively identical: Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-105(a)(2)(A) and § 43-1-113(b)(1). Both apply Code-wide.

Q: Has the Tennessee Supreme Court applied this definition?
A: Yes. Shore v. Maple Lane Farms, LLC, 411 S.W.3d 405 (Tenn. 2013), applied an earlier version of the definition to the term "agricultural uses" in § 13-7-114.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-105(a)(2)(A), (b)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 43-1-113(a), (b)(1)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-1-118(b)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-1-122
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 13-7-114

Cases:

• Shore v. Maple Lane Farms, LLC, 411 S.W.3d 405 (Tenn. 2013)

Related AG opinions:

• Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. No. 17-30 (Apr. 17, 2017)
• Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. No. 14-79 (Sept. 4, 2014)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2017/op17-035.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF TENNESSEE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
July 26, 2017
Opinion No. 17-35
Application of the Statutory Definition of "Agriculture" to the Word "Agricultural"

Question
Does the definition of "agriculture" in Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 1-3-105(a)(2)(A) and 43-1-113(b)(1) apply in determining the meaning of "agricultural" as used in Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-1-118(b), Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-1-122, and Tenn. Code Ann. § 13-7-114?

Yes.

ANALYSIS

Tennessee Code Annotated §§ 1-3-105(a)(2)(A) and 43-1-113(b)(1) identically define the noun "agriculture." That definition applies wherever "agriculture" appears in the Code, unless either "the context otherwise requires" (Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-105(a)) or "a different definition is specifically made applicable to the part, chapter, or section in which the term appears" (Tenn. Code Ann. § 43-1-113(a)). See Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. No. 17-30 (Apr. 17, 2017). The Code provides no separate definition of "agricultural," the adjectival form of the noun.

Undefined words in the Code must "be given their natural and ordinary meaning, without forced or subtle construction that would limit or extend the meaning of the language, except when a contrary intention is clearly manifest." Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-105(b). Thus, the undefined adjective "agricultural" must be given its natural and ordinary meaning wherever it appears in the Code, unless the context requires otherwise.

The natural and ordinary meaning of "agricultural" is "of or relating to agriculture." New Oxford American Dictionary, 3rd ed. Since the meaning of "agricultural" is tied to the meaning of "agriculture," one must then look to the applicable definition of "agriculture" to determine to what, precisely, the adjective relates as it is used in the Code. The source for the applicable definition of "agriculture" here is the generally applicable definition of "agriculture" in Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 1-3-105(a)(2)(A) and 43-1-113(b)(1). That definition applies to determine the meaning of "agricultural" wherever "agricultural" appears in the Code, including Title 5 and Title 13. See Shore v. Maple Lane Farms, LLC, 411 S.W.3d 405, 427-31 (Tenn. 2013) (applying a previous statutory definition of "agriculture" to the term "agricultural uses" in Tenn. Code Ann. § 13-7-114); Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. No. 14-79 (Sept. 4, 2014) (discussing the current definition of "agricultural" in Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 1-3-105(a)(2)(A) and 43-1-113(b)(1) in relation to the term "agricultural enterprise" in Tenn. Code Ann. § 13-7-114).

In short, the definition of "agriculture" in Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 1-3-105(a)(2)(A) and 43-1-113(b)(1) applies in determining the meaning of "agricultural" as used in Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-1-118(b), Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-1-122, and Tenn. Code Ann. § 13-7-114.

HERBERT H. SLATERY III
Attorney General and Reporter

ANDRÉE SOPHIA BLUMSTEIN
Solicitor General

JAMES P. URBAN
Assistant Attorney General

Requested by:
The Honorable Mike Bell
State Senator
309 War Memorial Building
Nashville, TN 37243