Junior and Senior level Ag Bus.
Colorado Agriscience Curriculum
Section:
Advanced Agribusiness
Unit:
Ag Law
Lesson Title:
Liability Laws Relating to Agriculture
Colorado Ag
Education
Standards and
Competencies
Colorado Model
Content
Standard(s):
Student Learning
Objectives:
Time:
Resource(s):
AGB11/12.02 - The student will be able to
communicate a knowledge of current agricultural
issues.
Understand the implications of Workman's Comp
regulations.
Identify government legislation and regulations and their
effects on agriculture.
English Standard 1: Students read and understand a variety of materials.
English Standard 4: Students apply thinking skills to their reading, writing,
speaking, listening, and viewing
English Standard 5: Students read to locate, select, and make use of relevant
information from a variety of media, reference, and technological sources.
 The student will gain a better understanding of agricultural liability.

The student will develop a better understanding of how to deal with
agricultural liabilities.

The student will be able to identify agricultural liabilities.
50 minutes
http://osuextra.okstate.edu/pdfs/F-5031web.pdf
Casey, Jobes, Purcell, and Steward (1992). Farm and Ranch Business
Management. Deere and Company Service Publications Department. Moline,
Illinois.
Instructions, Tools,
Equipment, and
Supplies:
Power Point presentation
Examples of hunting lease contract- http://osuextra.okstate.edu/pdfs/F5031web.pdf
Unit 3, Lesson 3: Agricultural Liability
1
Interest Approach:
Slide 1
Introduction
Slide 2
Do Good Fences really make Good neighbors?
Ask students to consider the following questions.
You have an old barn on your property that has many loose boards on it and the
wind begins blowing, those boards onto your neighbors crop. Are you
responsible of the damages that your neighbor has? If you give permission to a
hunter to hunt on your land, are you liable for accidents that may occur? If your
cattle get out onto a public road and are hit by a motorist, are you responsible for
the damages to that vehicle or even worse someone’s health?
Instruction
Use the Power Point presentation to introduce agricultural liabilities.
Objective 1:
The student will gain a better understanding of agricultural liabilities
Slide 3
Farm Liabilities-The responsibility of the farmer or rancher when an accident
happens on their property, with their equipment, or even with their livestock.
In the case of employees, it is a good idea to have specific training on dangerous
equipment such as PTO’s. It is an employer’s job to stress specific safety
regulations.
Liability insurance may not eliminate loss altogether, but it can help producers if
legal action are brought before them.
There are many liabilities involved with agriculture. The types of liabilities
you might face can vary from operation to operation. We have touched on
only a few of them in this lesson the main point is to educate employees on
the potential risks they might face, develop contracts with lessee’s, and
maintain a safe agriculture environment
Objective 2:
The student will develop a better understanding of how to deal with
agricultural liabilities
Slide 4
Agricultural liability can become an issue when visitors participate in an
“agricultural recreation activity.”
 Agricultural recreation activities
o Mainly hunting, shooting, swimming, and horseback riding
o Also, planting, irrigating, harvesting crops, mechanicing, and
livestock activities
There is an agriculture immunity statute in Colorado that helps protect farmers
and ranchers from occurring all of the liability when an accident happens.
Slide 5
 House Bill 03-1003
o House Bill 03-1003 states that farmers, ranchers, activity instructors,
and equipment providers will not be civilly liable for the injury or
death that occurs while participating in agricultural recreation
activities that have inherent risks.
Unit 3, Lesson 3: Agricultural Liability
2
One way of preventing a legal issue, when agricultural recreation activities are
involved, is to develop a contract with the persons involved.
So now that we have educated ourselves on the different risks concerning
agriculture liabilities how do we deal with these liabilities. You should lead the
students in discussion in a direction of reducing risk using contracts, worker
education programs, and maintaining a safe agriculture environment.
Objective 3:
The student will be able to identify agricultural liabilities and possible
preventative measures.
Slide 6
The lease agreement is a good place to list existing hazards and it should
include a statement and signatures stating that the lessees are aware of the
hazards. A landowner is required to take all reasonable precautions to ensure
the safety of the lessees.
Lessor-the owner of the property
Lessee-the person who is leasing the property
Interviewing a lessee may insure that the land will be properly cared for while the
lessee is in custody of the property.
Slide 7
Hunting lease agreements are an example of an agreement that can be made
between landowner and lessee. The main purpose of this agreement is to
protect the rights of the landowner and the lessee. This contract may also
include a liability statement, which would help protect the landowner from a
lawsuit if injuries occur while the hunter is on your land.
In Colorado what happens if your cattle do get out and are hit by a vehicle?
Slide 8
Colorado is an “Open Range” or “fence out" state, this means that landowners
who do not want livestock on their property are responsible for fencing them out.
However, grazing on roads is not allowed. If your livestock break through a
fence then you are responsible for the cost of the repairs. The injuries that occur
to a motorist may or may not be your fault, depending on the condition of your
fences.
We have identified a few agriculture liabilities. Let us see if we can develop a top ten
agriculture liability list. Encourage discussion amongst the students concerning types
of liabilities. Develop the top ten list on the bulletin board.
Review/Summary:
Slide 9
After reviewing this information, there is no way stop liabilities issues from
arising, however, there are options that can help producers avoid liability issues.
– Proper training
– Contracts/lease agreements
Unit 3, Lesson 3: Agricultural Liability
3
–
Liability Insurance
Have students develop risk management plans for three of the liabilities listed on
the top ten liabilities on the board. The plans should include at least three
objectives for each liability.
Application-Extended
Classroom Activity:
Students should develop a contract for hunting on their agricultural property.
They should include any statements that would protect them from an agricultural
liability lawsuit. The contract should be no longer than one page including all
signatures.
Several things to include in a lease are:
1. Description of the recreational rights, services, and facilities being leased
2. Name
3. Description of the property being leased – can include acreage, legal
description and map
4. Terms of payment
5. Duration of the lease, season-long leases or daily leases, this may also
include the beginning and ending dates of the lease.
6. Definition of who has recreational rights-ex. hunting, fishing, and/or horseback
riding
7. Any special rules, restrictions, or responsibilities
8. Termination clause should lessees violate terms of agreement
9. A liability waiver or hold harmless clause and a statement of the lessee’s
responsibility for property damages
10. Signatures of all parties involved and addresses of the major parties involved
Application--FFA
Activity:
Application--SAE
Activity:
FFA Activity
Have students write a risk management essay that incorporates identifying
liabilities and how they eliminate these liabilities in their SAE. Students who
write high quality essays may enter their essays in the Risk Management
Contest.
SAE Activity
Have the class develop a plan for at least three SAE’s that would incorporate
agriculture recreation. These plans should be functional in your local area.
Evaluation:
Have students write a one page risk management essay covering a current
agriculture liability law issue. The essay should include the liability, a plan to
reduce that liability, and potential results in the reduction of risk from that plan.
Evaluation Answer
Key:
Rubric for Risk Management Essay:
Length – 20 pts
Grammar – 20 pts
Unit 3, Lesson 3: Agricultural Liability
4
Identification of current liability issue – 20 pts
Plan to reduce liability – 40 pts
Unit 3, Lesson 3: Agricultural Liability
5