March 6, 2020
Liability: How ag landowners can protect themselves
By Bryce McWilliams
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast facts:
- National Agricultural Law Center webinar to cover options to reduce liability
- Webinar is March 18 at noon to 1 p.m. EST
- Register online at: http://bit.ly/2SXVNzH
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – City dwellers looking for recreational opportunities away from the city will sometimes find themselves on farmland, leaving landowners with increased exposure to liability, say legal experts.
An upcoming webinar from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's National Agricultural Law Center will address options to reduce liability. The webinar is March 18 at noon, EST. Registration is online at http://bit.ly/2SXVNzH
Whether those visitors come because of an agritourism opportunity or are hiking and driving through fields and woodland unaware that they are on private land, the risks to landowners are very real.
“For many landowners, concerns over potential liability if someone were to be injured on the farm or ranch are terrifying,” said Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, associate professor and extension specialist in agricultural law for Texas A&M Agrilife. “There are, however, a number of steps a landowner can take to limit his or her liability exposure.”
Lashmet, whose work focuses on legal issues affecting Texas agricultural producers and landowners, said liability insurance and various state statutes can offer some measure of protection to landowners. She will discuss those and other risk management options March 18 in a free webinar hosted by the National Agricultural Law Center. The webinar begins at noon, EST.
Lashmet said that for landowners investigating various statutes limiting liability in their state, the NALC Reading Rooms are one of the most useful resources available.
For more information on the National Agricultural Law Center, visit https://nationalaglawcenter.org/ or follow @Nataglaw on Twitter.
About the National Agricultural Law Center
The National Agricultural Law Center serves as the nation’s leading source of agricultural and food law research and information. The Center works with producers, state and federal policymakers, Congressional staffers, attorneys, land grant universities, and many others to provide objective, nonpartisan agricultural and food law research and information to the nation’s agricultural community.
The Center is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and works in close partnership with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Agricultural Library.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact 479-575-4607 as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
Media Contact: Sarah Cato
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
National Agricultural Law Center
(870) 815-9035
sscato@uark.edu