Farms and Fun: Reducing Liability Risk for Agritourism

Topic:

The agritourism industry is in a growth pattern. The number of farms receiving income from agritourism in the U.S. expanded from 23,350 in 2007 to 33,161 in 2012 and agritourism income grew from $566 million to $704 million, with an average income of over $24,000 per farm. Research suggests that agritourism operations will continue on this track in the future due to persistent consumer interest in food and farming coupled with an economic need to augment farm income through diversification.

However, bringing people onto the farm for fun also brings risks of injuries and the possibility of legal liability. In this webinar, we’ll address areas of high risk exposure for agritourism operations and tools for reducing liability risk such as immunity laws, best management practices, agritourism readiness plans and insurance options.

Participation:
This webinar was recorded on January 16, 2019. To listen to a recording of the webinar, please click here.

Presenter:

Peggy Hall is an assistant professor and field specialist in agricultural and resource law. Hall is a graduate of The Ohio State University (B.S., M.S., Natural Resource Policy) and the University of Wyoming College of Law (J.D.), where she served on the Land & Water Law Review. She is a Past President and Board Member of the American Agricultural Law Association; Past Chair of the Ohio State Bar Association Agricultural Law Committee and served as an Advisory Board Member for the National Agricultural Law Center. Hall currently teaches Agribusiness Law in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University and directs research and outreach projects for OSU’s Agricultural & Resource Law Program.

Eric Barrett is an Assistant Professor and Extension Educator, specializing in marketing and local foods. He has been teaching and leading OSU Extension programs since 1996. He works with many aspects of agriculture, including urban farming and speaks at conferences across the US. His passions are teaching and helping farmers improve marketing practices.