Agritourism operators: now is the time for liability risk management

Many of Ohio’s farm markets, u-picks, farm petting zoos, and other “agritourism” operations are preparing to open for their spring and summer activities.  While these types of agritourism activities are popular, they raise unique liability concerns. That’s because there is always the risk of an injury or harm when bringing people onto the farm, whether allowing them to be near animals, riding on equipment, in crop and orchard areas, or engaging in physical activities.  Along with readying the farm for the new season, agritourism operators should also plan for the possibility of a liability incident. 

Here are five actions agritourism providers can take to manage liability risk.

1. Conduct a safety review.   Inspect your operation with visitor safety in mind.  Remember, many visitors have never been on a farm or don’t understand what might harm them on a farm. Examine all areas visitors will be in, including surrounding “off limits” areas visitors might try to access, and identify any possible safety hazards.  Pay extra attention to areas children will use. Consider these questions:
   • Are the facilities, fences, gates, steps, play areas, and other structures in good repair?
   • Are doors and gates working and latching properly?
   • Are pesticides, herbicides, or chemicals out of sight and inaccessible?   
   • Are animal enclosures sound, do any “dangerous” animals need to be fully off limits to visitors, and are there handwashing stations near animal contact areas?
   • Are there any accessible dangers that might attract children, such as ladders, equipment, lagoons, large tractor tires, and wells?
   • Are parking areas and walkways sufficiently sized and buffered from traffic?

Look for the potential dangers, then take actions such as making repairs; installing blockades, fences, locks, or other structures to keep visitors away; putting up signs and warnings; providing instructions or maps; expanding parking areas or walkways; and removing unnecessary dangers.

2. Complete our Agritourism Ready course.  Be prepared for the possibility of an emergency situation—both natural and man-made disasters can raise the need for an emergency response. How an operation responds to an emergency can reduce harm to visitors and ultimately affect the operation’s risk of liability or harm.  OSU offers a curriculum that helps agritourism operations reduce risks by developing an emergency management plan.  Access this valuable and free resource at https://u.osu.edu/agritourismready/.
3. Train employees.  A business is legally responsible for the negligence of its employees, so it’s important to reduce the risk that an employee’s actions will cause or contribute to a visitor’s harm.  Provide thorough safety training to agritourism employees.  Make sure employees know how to do the job, including activities like operating equipment, maintaining and cleaning visitor areas, handling animals, overseeing children, and responding to a safety incident.
4. Obtain agritourism insurance coverage.  Insurance is an excellent liability management tool.  But be aware that a typical farm insurance policy does not cover agritourism activities, and a separate endorsement or policy may be necessary.  Even if a farm has a separate endorsement for agritourism, it’s still important to ensure that any new agritourism activities fall under the agritourism coverage. Now is the time to schedule a visit with the insurance provider and review the insurance policy.  Don’t be secretive about what you’re doing in your operation.  Share all activities with the provider and ensure that each activity is covered by the policy.  If an activity is not covered or will require costly additional coverage, weigh the risk, costs, and benefits of continuing to offer the activity.
5. Install the Ohio agritourism immunity sign.  I’ve been surprised recently by how many operations I’ve visited that do not have an agritourism immunity sign on display. Posting the sign is a critical risk management tool.  That’s because Ohio law provides civil immunity for qualifying agritourism providers if a visitor suffers harm or injuries due to the “inherent risks” of being on a farm.  To receive the immunity, however, an agritourism provider must post the required agritourism immunity sign at the entrance to or near the agritourism activities.  The agritourism immunity sign warns visitors that the operation is not liable for harm from inherent risks and that they are assuming the risk of participating in agritourism activities. But while it’s an important tool, don’t let the sign replace all of the other recommendations provided in this article.  Read more about the immunity law and the agritourism immunity sign in our law bulletin, Ohio’s Agritourism Law, available on farmoffice.osu.edu.

Agritourism is a thriving industry in Ohio. Taking legal precautions to manage liability risk will help ensure that agritourism remains an important component of Ohio agriculture. To learn more about legal issues in agritourism, visit OSU’s Agritourism Law Library on the Farm Office website at farmoffice.osu.edu/law-library.

Ohio Agritourism Conference is April 1

OSU Extension’s Ohio Agritourism Conference on April 1 is not an April Fool’s Day joke, but it does promise to be fun learning!  If you’re thinking about adding or expanding agritourism activities on your farm operation, consider joining us as we learn more about what makes a successful agritourism operation.  We’ll will visit two popular agritourism operations in southwest Ohio– Blooms & Berries Farm Market and The Marmalade Lily — with touring and talks planned at both locations.

Here’s the full agenda for the day:

9 a.m. – Registration at Blooms & Berries.

• Blooms & Berries, an Inside Look. Jeff and Emily Probst – Owners. Meet the team and take a closer look at how we serve about 100,000 guests a year by staying authentically true to our brand and our team!

Morning breakout sessions, featuring Blooms and Berries Farm Market personnel:

• Love Your Staff.  Erica Clayton – Retail and Events Personnel Manager.  Learn how Blooms & Berries uses culture to create buy-in and develop an amazing guest experience while easing the burnout.
• Ag and Operations Show and Tell. Ben Autry – Ag Production Manager and Derek Rice – Operations Manager. This Q&A session explores the equipment barn, workshop and organizational systems, and specialized equipment.
• The Market Barn – Shopping is an Attraction Too!  Emily Probst – Owner.   Emily shares top sellers and guest favorites!
• The Pie Dough $.  Marie Graves – head baker and Cathy Probst – Owner.  Hear how the team makes and sells 5,000 pies from scratch each year, plus cookies and much more.  

Noon – Lunch at The Marmalade Lily Event Venue and Floral Farm, with an operation overview from owner Laura Fisher.

Afternoon general session

•  Pouring a New Revenue Stream for Your Operation:  Adding Alcohol to Agritourism – Peggy Hall, OSU Agricultural & Resource Law Program and Jeff Probst, Blooms & Berries Farm Market
•  Pre-sale Ticketing Trends – Shadi Hayek, Ticket Spice
•  Minding Your P’s and Q’s – Trademark/Copyright Concerns in Marketing Your Business – Hannah Scott, CFAES Center for Cooperatives
• Employee Hiring, Training, and Empowerment: People Make Your Business – Rob Leeds, OSU Extension Delaware County
• Ask Us Anything – Ask that burning question of our experts and your peers

Registration for the conference is $50 and is now open at:  https://southcenters.osu.edu/direct-marketing/agritourism-conference.

Appeals Court upholds injunction against wedding barn

Let’s hope the marriages that began at Stoney Hill Farm in southwestern Ohio fare better than the wedding barn where they started.  Yet another lawsuit over the Stoney Hill wedding barn has ended in an adverse ruling for the owner.  The Second District Court of Appeals recently upheld a permanent injunction that for now, prevents the owner from renting the barn for weddings and other events.  

The case highlights the continuing conflicts across Ohio over what to do with wedding barns on farms.  Should wedding barns be subject to local zoning and state building and fire codes? Or should wedding barns qualify for the exemptions from zoning, building, and fire codes Ohio law provides for agricultural types of land uses?  It’s a question that has often ended up in court, as the statutory zoning exemptions for agriculture and agritourism in Ohio law are unclear and require judicial interpretation. 

How we got here

The legal battles against Powlette, the owner of Stoney Hill Farm, started in 2018.   The owner constructed a new two-story, 8,000 square foot barn on 26 acres he had purchased in Miami Township.  Declaring that the barn would be used for the agricultural purpose of housing horses, Powlette received an exemption from local zoning regulations for the barn.  That’s because Ohio’s “agricultural exemption” removes township zoning authority from agricultural land uses and structures to ensure that agriculture can take place in Ohio’s unincorporated areas. 

But when Powlette later advertised the barn as Stoney Hill Rustic Weddings and began using it to host weddings and events, the township filed a notice of zoning violation.  The township’s zoning resolution did not permit those types of uses in Powlette’s zoning district. The Board of Zoning Appeals and Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas reviewed the facts and determined Powlette was using the barn not just for agriculture but as a place of “public assembly,” in violation of zoning regulations. 

Powlette then planted grapevines on the property and began making wine, claiming those activities allowed him to continue using the barn under another part of the agricultural exemption.  That part gives zoning and building code exemptions for buildings that are used primarily for vinting and selling wine that are on land where there is viticulture, the growing of grapes. The township again disagreed that Powlette could host weddings and events in the barn and sought a permanent injunction against its continued use.  The Montgomery Township Common Pleas court reviewed Powlette’s use of the barn and determined that the winery-based zoning exemptions did not apply or allow him to hold weddings and events.  The trial court issued a permanent injunction, preventing Powlette from renting, leasing, or operating weddings, receptions, parties, or other celebratory events in the barn for a fee.  Powlette appealed the injunction to the Second District Court of Appeals, which brings us to the court’s decision on September 30, 2022.

As a side note, the Montgomery Court of Common Pleas fined Powlette $50,000 last month for continuing to hold weddings in the barn despite the permanent injunction issued by the court.  Powlette’s response is that he is not in violation of the injunction since he no longer charges a fee for the weddings.  He claims an Ohio Supreme Court case allows him to have free weddings for guests who purchase his wine. 

Additionally, note that there have been several other legal actions against Powlette from the Montgomery County Board of Building Regulations and the Fire District for building code and fire code violations, also based on the use of the structure for weddings and events and also resulting in rulings against Powlette.  And public attention has been high, with television and newspaper reporters covering the township and neighborhood conflicts over the late night, noisy wedding parties at Stoney Hill.

The Court of Appeals decision

The question Powlette raised with the Court of Appeals in the recent case is whether the Montgomery County Common Pleas court properly granted the permanent injunction.  Powlette maintains that the trial court erred by failing to find that the Stoney Hill barn is used for agriculture or agritourism, which would exempt the structure from zoning.   The appellate court reviewed the trial court’s finding that the only agricultural use in the barn was the storing of hay in the upper level of the barn, which also contained outdoor decks, decorative windows, chandeliers, two restrooms, a staging area for bridal parties, a prep area with cabinets and a refrigerator, and electrical, heating and cooling systems.  The evidence indicated, however, that the hay was stored in the barn for use as decorations or seating and not as animal feed.  The court did not see error in the trial court’s conclusion that the barn was constructed for events and not for an agricultural purpose.

The appellate court also agreed that the wedding barn should not be exempt from zoning as agritourism.  Ohio law defines agritourism as an agriculturally related educational, cultural, historical, entertainment, or recreational activity on a farm.  Powlette argued that wedding guests were educated about agriculture, were entertained by interacting with animals and taking wagon rides, that rural weddings are historical and cultural events, and that gathering for a rural wedding in a recreational event.  However, the court questioned how those activities were “agriculturally related.” With little explanation, the court stated that it could not see any connection between the wedding venue in the second story of the barn and any agricultural activities occurring on the property.  “Instead, the barn was built in order to serve as an event venue in a rural, agricultural setting,” the court concluded.

The court also disagreed with Powlette’s second argument against the trial court, that the permanent injunction it granted was overbroad and foreclosed him from any future activities that would qualify as agritourism.  Quickly dispensing with that argument, the court stated that Powlette could request that the injunction be dissolved if he properly engaged in an exempt agricultural use, such as establishing a vineyard and vinting operation as the primary use of the barn. 

What now for wedding barns?

Given that Powlette has begun planting grapes and making wine, a request to dissolve the injunction against him may be the next step of the Stoney Hill wedding barn story.  But the bigger questions remain:  should wedding barns like Stoney Hill be exempt from zoning oversight?  Should an owner be permitted to build or renovate a barn for weddings and events in any rural area, or should local zoning be able to regulate where wedding barns can be?  For now, the answer from the Second District Court of Appeals is clear:  barns built to serve as wedding venues aren’t agriculturally related to the land, don’t have an agricultural purpose, and should not be exempt from zoning.  But like marriage, the future of whether wedding barns are subject to rural zoning in Ohio could be subject to change.

Read the court’s decision in Miami Twp. Bd. of Trustees v Powlette.

The Ag Law Roundup

It’s time to round up a sampling of legal questions we’ve received the past month or so.  The questions effectively illustrate the breadth of “agricultural law,” and we’re happy to help Ohioans understand its many parts.  Here’s a look at what has come our way:

I’m considering a carbon credit agreement.  What should I look for?   Several types of carbon credit agreements are now available to Ohio farmers, and they differ from one another so it’s good to review them closely and with the assistance of an attorney and an agronomist.  For starters, take time to understand the terminology, make sure you can meet the initial eligibility criteria, review payment and penalty terms, know what types of practices are acceptable, determine “additionality” requirements for creating completing new carbon reductions, know the required length of participation and how long the carbon reductions must remain in place, understand how carbon reductions will be verified and certified, be aware of data ownership rights, and review legal remedy provisions.  That’s a lot!  Read more about each of these recommendations in our blog post on “Considering Carbon Farming?”

I want to replace an old line fence.  Can I remove trees along the fence when I build the new fence?   No, unless they are completely on your side of the boundary line.  Both you and your neighbor co-own the boundary trees, so you’ll need the neighbor’s permission to remove them.  You could be liable to the neighbor for the value of the trees if you remove them without the neighbor’s approval, and Ohio law allows triple that value if you remove them against the neighbor’s wishes or recklessly harm the trees in the process of building the fence.  You can, however, trim back the neighbor’s tree branches to the property line as long as you don’t harm the tree.  Also, Ohio’s line fence law in ORC 971.08 allows you to access up to 10 feet of the neighbor’s property to build the fence, although you can be liable if you damage the property in doing so.

I want to sell grow annuals and sell the cut flowers.  Do I need a nursery license?  No.  Ohio’s nursery dealer license requirement applies to those who sell or distribute “nursery stock,” which the law defines as any “hardy” tree, shrub, plant, bulb, cutting, graft, or bud, excluding turf grass.  A “hardy” plant is one that is capable of surviving winter temperatures. Note that the definition of nursery stock also includes some non-hardy plants sold out of the state.  Because annual flowers and cuttings from those flowers don’t fall into the definition of “nursery stock,” a seller need not obtain the nursery dealer license.

Must I collect sales tax on cut flowers that I sell?  Yes.  In agriculture, we’re accustomed to many items being exempt from Ohio’s sales tax.  That’s not the case when selling flowers and plants directly to customers, which is a retail sale that is subject to the sales tax.  The seller must obtain a vendor’s license from the Ohio Department of Taxation, then collect and submit the taxes regularly.  Read more about vendor’s licenses and sales taxes in our law bulletin at this link.

I’m an absentee landowner who rents my farmland to a tenant operator.  Should I have liability insurance on the land?  Yes.  A general liability policy with a farm insurer should be affordable and worth the liability risk reduction.  But a few other steps can further minimize risk.  Require your tenant operator to have liability insurance that adequately covers the tenant’s operations, and include indemnification provisions in your farm lease that shift liability to the tenant during the lease period.  Also consider requiring your tenant or hiring someone to do routine property inspections, monitor trespass issues, and ensure that the property is in a safe condition. 

My neighbor and I both own up to the shoreline on either side of a small lake–do I have the right to use the whole lake?  It depends on where the property lines lay and whether the lake is connected to other waters. If the lake is completely surrounded by private property and not connected to other “navigable” waters, such as a stream that feeds into it, the lake is most likely a private water body.  Both of you could limit access to your side of the property line as it runs through the lake.  You also have the legal right to make a “reasonable use” of the water in the lake from your land, referred to as “riparian rights.”  You could withdraw it to water your livestock, for example; but you cannot “unreasonably” interfere with your neighbor’s right to reasonably use the water.   The law changes if the lake is part of a “navigable” waterway.  It is then a “water of the state” that is subject to the public right of navigation.  Others could float on and otherwise navigate the water, and you could navigate over to your neighbor’s side.  Public users would not have the riparian rights that would allow them to withdraw and use the water, however, and would be trespassing if they go onto the private land along the shore.

If I start an agritourism activity on my farm, will I lose my CAUV status?  No, not if your activities fit within the legal definition of “agritourism.”  Ohio law states in ORC 5713.30(A)(5) that “agritourism” activities do not disqualify a parcel from Ohio’s Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV) program. “Agritourism,” according to the definition in ORC 901.80, is any agriculturally related educational, entertainment, historical, cultural, or recreational activity on a “farm” that allows or invites members of the general public to observe, participate in, or enjoy that activity.  The definition of a “farm” is the same as the CAUV eligibility—a parcel devoted to commercial agricultural production that is either 10 acres or more or, if under 10 acres, grosses $2500 annually from agricultural production.  This means that land that is enrolled in the CAUV program qualifies as a “farm” and can add agritourism activities without becoming ineligible for CAUV.

Send your questions to aglaw@osu.edu and we’ll do our best to provide an answer.  Also be sure to check out our law bulletins and the Ag Law Library on https://farmoffice.osu.edu, which explain many of Ohio’s vast assortment of agricultural laws.

The Ag Law Harvest

By: Jeffrey K. Lewis, Attorney and Research Specialist, OSU Agricultural and Resource Law Program

Did you know there is a bird with talons larger than grizzly bear claws?  The Harpy Eagle’s back talons can reach lengths of 5 inches, which is larger than a grizzly bear’s claws which reach lengths of around 4 inches. Thankfully, the Harpy Eagle is not usually found in the United States, they are traditionally found in the rainforests of Central and South America.  

The variety and extent of the animal kingdom can be a good analogy when we talk about the scope and variability of agricultural and resource law.  “Ag law” isn’t in and of itself a core area of law, at least not an area of law taught in most law schools across the country.  Those core areas of law are traditionally contracts, constitutional, tort, property, and a few others.  But ag law includes most, if not all, of the core legal subjects.  This includes property law, tax law, tort law, international law, intellectual property law, environmental law, contracts, business, labor and employment, and others.  This week’s edition of the Ag Law Harvest shows you how diverse ag law really is.  We review some legislation moving in parts of the country that deal with tax law, property law, and administrative law.  We also review Federal regulations and court cases that address food law, trademark law, and antitrust law.  

Florida introduces legislation to protect farmers’ preferential tax benefits amid agritourism boom.  Florida’s legislature is hard at work to ensure the success of Florida’s agriculture and agritourism industries.   Recently, Florida’s legislature introduced Senate Bill 1186 and House Bill 717.  The purpose of both bills is to promote Florida’s agritourism industry and protect farmers when it comes to land classification, taxation, and regulation.  Both pieces of legislation look to: 

• Eliminate duplicate regulatory authority over agritourism by preventing local government from enacting regulations that prohibit, restrict, or otherwise limit an agritourism activity from taking place on land classified as agricultural land. 
• Prevent land from being classified “non-agricultural” simply because an agritourism activity takes places on the land, so long as the agritourism activity is taking place on a bona fide farm. 
• Implement a hybrid property taxation scheme which allows the buildings and other structures used for agritourism activities to be assessed at just value and added to the agriculturally assessed value of the land.  

Both bills are currently making their way through their respective chamber’s committees and should be voted on soon.  

Michigan looking to pass legislation to reduce fines for family farmers that do not report accidental workplace deaths to the state.  The Michigan Senate recently passed a substitute for House Bill 4031, which is focused on reducing the fine incurred by family farms for not reporting the death of a family member within eight hours.  Under current Michigan law, a family farm must report any fatality to the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration within eight hours or face a fine of at least $5,000, which is exactly what happened to the Eisenmann family in 2019.  The Eisenmann family ran a family farm and was fined $12,000 after Keith Eisenmann fell to his death while repairing a barn roof.  The bill seeks to reduce the fine for families that are grieving the unexpected loss of a loved one.  Although a family farm will still be required to report the accidental work-related death of a loved one within eight hours, if a family fails to do so, the substitute bill drastically reduces the penalty.  The original bill passed Michigan’s House of Representatives late last year, but the substitute bill passed by the Michigan Senate clarifies the definition of family farm.  The substitute bill now goes back to the House of Representatives for approval.  

Bioengineered food standard now in effect.  January 1st marked the first day of compliance for the Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (the “Standard”).  The Standard requires food manufacturers, importers, and certain retailers to disclose to consumers that foods are or may be bioengineered.  The Standard defines bioengineered foods as “those that contain detectable genetic material that has been modified through certain lab techniques and cannot be created through conventional breeding or found in nature.”  The Agricultural Marketing Service has created a list of bioengineered foods to identify the crops or foods that are available in a bioengineered form.  For more information on the Bioengineered Food Disclosure Statement visit https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/be.

A bite into the cheesier side of trademark law.  Last month, a federal court in Virginia decided on a dispute between European and American cheesemakers.  The dispute arose over whether the term “Gruyere” should only be used to identify cheeses produced in the Gruyère region of France and Switzerland or whether the term can be used generically to describe a type of cheese, regardless of where the cheese is produced.  The Plaintiffs, two European business groups, filed an application with the United States Patent Trademark Office (“USPTO”) to register “Gruyere” as a certification mark under 15 U.S.C. § 1127 which would only allow cheesemakers to use the term “Gruyere” if the cheese came from the Gruyère region.  The U.S. Dairy Export Council and others (“Defendants”) filed an opposition to Plaintiffs’ application with the Trademark Trials and Appeals Board (“TTAB”).  The TTAB found the term “Gruyere” to be generic term used to describe a type of cheese, not a cheese’s origin.  Plaintiffs’ then filed suit in a federal court in Virginia.  The federal court held that the “Gruyere” term had become a generic term to describe a type of cheese and failed to find the term worthy of trademark protection.  The court reasoned that although the term “Gruyere” may have once been understood to indicate where a cheese came from, over time “Gruyere” became a generic term to describe a type of cheese.  The court noted the term “Gruyere” has become generic overtime because: (1) U.S. regulations allow the use of the term “Gruyere” regardless of where the cheese is produced, (2) there is widespread sale and import of Gruyere cheese that is produced outside the Gruyère region, and (3) “Gruyere” is commonly used in dictionaries, media communications, and cheese industry events to describe a type of cheese without regards to where the cheese is produced.  Plaintiffs have since appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which means we still have a gooey situation on our hands.  

USDA and Department of Justice announce commitment to protect farmers against unfair anticompetitive practices.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) each announced their shared commitment to enforcing federal competition laws that are aimed at protecting farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural producers from unfair, anticompetitive practices.  In continuing their commitment to enforcing such laws, the agencies released a statement of principles and commitments which include: 

1. Farmers, ranchers, and other producers and growers deserve the benefits of free and fair competition.  The DOJ and USDA are therefore prioritizing matters impacting competition in agriculture. 
2. The agencies will develop an accessible, confidential process for agricultural producers to submit complaints about potential violations of the antitrust laws and the Packers and Stockyards Act.  
3. Increased cooperation between the agencies to enforce the laws that protect agricultural producers and to identify areas where Congress can help modernize rules and regulations.   

As we have seen over the past few months, the federal government is keen on preventing the consolidation of the agricultural industry in order promote fair and equal competition.  The announced commitments and principles demonstrate the government’s continued dedication to cracking down on unfair practices. 

New Year, New Minimum Wage

By: Jeffrey K. Lewis, Attorney and Research Specialist, OSU Agricultural & Resource Law

As 2021 winds down, it is always good to plan for the new year.  Part of that planning includes making sure, as an employer, you are compliant with any updates to current law as we turn the calendars to 2022.  One law that is changing next year, is Ohio’s minimum wage law.  Beginning January 1, 2022, the Ohio minimum wage will rise to $9.30, up from the current $8.80, for non-tipped employees.  However, as an agricultural employer, the law provides some exemptions to paying federal or state minimum wage. In this post, we review minimum wage requirements, agricultural exemptions to minimum wage, and who qualifies for the agricultural exemptions. 

Ohio versus federal minimum wage.  As discussed above, Ohio’s minimum wage will rise to $9.30 for non-tipped employees but federal minimum wage will remain at $7.25.  An agricultural employer is required to follow both state and federal laws, but when the two sets of laws differ, there may be some confusion about which one applies.  Normally, federal law reigns supreme and usually preempts, or overrides, state law.  But in this case, the federal law sets the floor for minimum wage.  This means that employers across the country that are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) cannot pay less than $7.25 per hour to their employees.  However, if a state law requires that employers pay their employees more than the federal minimum wage, then the employer must meet the state’s minimum wage standard.  Thus, Ohio employers must pay the Ohio minimum wage, unless an exemption applies. 

Ohio’s “small employer” exemption. Starting in 2022, Ohio employers that grossed less than $342,000 in 2021 are not required to pay Ohio’s $9.30 minimum wage.  Instead, those employers are required to pay the $7.25 federal minimum wage to their employees, unless another exemption applies. 

Ohio and federal agricultural exemptions.  Under both Ohio and federal law, agricultural employers are exempt from paying the federal or Ohio minimum wage to their employees if any of following apply: 

1. The employer did not use more than 500 man-days of agricultural labor during any calendar quarter during the preceding year. 
2. The employee is the parent, spouse, child, or other member of the employer’s immediate family. 
3. The employee: 
   • is employed as a hand-harvest laborer; 
   • is paid on a piece-rate basis; 
   • commutes daily from their permanent residence to the farm; and 
   • was employed in agriculture for less than 13 weeks during the previous calendar year. 
4. The employee is: 
   • 16 years of age or younger; 
   • employed as a hand-harvest laborer; 
   • paid on a piece-rate basis; 
   • employed on the same farm as their parent or legal guardian; and 
   • paid the same piece-rate wage as employees over the age of 16. 
5. The employee is engaged in range production of livestock. 

500 man-days exemption.  The “man-days” exemption was intended to exempt small and family-sized farms.   A “man-day” is any day during which an employee performs at least one hour of agricultural labor.  To calculate a “man-day”, an agricultural employer needs to keep track of the number of people who worked each day and for how long.  500 “man-days” is roughly equal to having seven employees working for at least one hour each, five days a week during a calendar quarter.  It is also not just full-time employees that are counted towards the 500 “man-day” exemption, temporary and seasonal workers also count towards the “man-day” exemption.  

Family member exemption.  An agricultural employer is not required to pay family members the minimum wage.  This family member exemption applies to employees engaged in agriculture and are either the parent, spouse, child or other member of the employer’s immediate family.  However, not every blood relative is considered “other immediate family.”  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the following will be considered as part of the employer’s “other immediate family”: stepchildren, foster children, stepparents, and foster parents.  Other family members, including siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, uncles, and aunts do not count as immediate family members.  

Employed in agriculture.  Ohio law closely resembles, if not mirrors, FLSA requirements when it comes to agricultural exemptions to minimum wage and overtime requirements.  But, to qualify for the agricultural exemptions discussed above, an employer must have employees that are employed in “agriculture.”  Under the FLSA, “agriculture” has two distinct branches, primary agriculture and secondary agriculture.  Employees engaged in primary agriculture are considered to be employed in agriculture for that workweek.  Employees engaged in secondary agriculture are only considered to be employed in agriculture if the activities are performed by a farmer or on a farm in connection with the farming operations.  

What is considered primary agriculture?  Primary agriculture “includes farming in all its branches” and are those activities traditionally viewed as agricultural, including: 

• Cultivating and tilling the soil; 
• Dairying;    
• Producing, cultivating, growing, and harvesting agricultural or horticultural commodities; and 
• Raising livestock, bees, fur-bearing animals, or poultry. 

Activities that qualify as primary agriculture do not necessarily have to take place on a farm.  For example, someone employed in a hatchery that is located in an industrial complex is engaged in a primary agriculture activity (raising poultry) and is considered to be employed in agriculture.  On the other hand, even though an activity takes place on a farm, it does not necessarily mean it is considered to be a primary agriculture activity.  For example, courts have determined that employees of Dairy Farm A are not engaged in a primary agriculture activity when they process milk produced by Dairy Farm B.  

What is secondary agriculture?  Secondary agriculture includes all activities, including forestry or lumbering operations, that may not themselves be considered agricultural practices but are necessary to agriculture.  For an activity to be considered secondary agriculture it must meet two requirements:

1. the activity must either be performed by a farmer or on a farm; and 
2. the activity must be incidental to or in conjunction with such farming operations. 

Secondary agriculture includes preparing an agricultural product for market, delivering agricultural products to storage, to market, or to carriers for transportation to market.  

Any activity that is performed by a farmer’s employees, is also considered to be “performed by a farmer.” Moreover, an activity is considered “incidental to or in conjunction with” farming activities if the work being performed is: 

1. An established part of agriculture; 
2. subordinate to the farming operations of the farm; and 
3. not an independent business. 

Mixing it up.  After understanding what work is considered agricultural, it is important to understand the impact of an employee performing both exempt and non-exempt work.  If an employee does both exempt and non-exempt work in the same week, then the employee loses their exemption status and must be paid according to federal/Ohio minimum wage and overtime requirements.  However, if an employer can separate the employee’s exempt and non-exempt work into separate weeks, then the employer would only have to pay the employee federal/Ohio minimum wage and overtime for those weeks that the employee performed non-exempt work.  

This especially important to agricultural employers that also engage in agritourism activities.  Having a farm employee perform work related to an agritourism activity does not qualify for the agricultural exemptions under federal/Ohio law.  Agricultural employers should be careful when assigning their employees tasks.  Assigning tasks outside the realm of agriculture will subject the employer to the provisions of federal and state minimum wage and overtime laws.

Overtime.  Agricultural employers are exempt from paying their agricultural employees an overtime wage rate.  This exemption applies to all agricultural employees, not just small farm employees or immediate family members.  

Conclusion.  Determining whether your employees qualify for an agricultural exemption can be a complex issue, with multiple layers of analysis.  It is always best to ask an attorney to help clarify whether your employees are considered to be “employed in agriculture” and thus qualify for the agricultural exemptions to minimum wage and overtime laws.  Further, it is always a good idea to seek a lawyer’s counsel every so often to help make sure your operation is continuing to be compliant with labor and employment laws.  

References and Resources. 

29 U.S. Code Chapter 8 – Fair Labor Standards, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/chapter-8

29 U.S. Code § 206 – Minimum wage, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/206

29 CFR Chapter 5 – Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor, https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=9215c26baf64464cdfbd4073e46247d3&mc=true&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title29/29chapterV.tpl

29 C.F.R. §§ 780 et seq. – Exemptions Applicable to Agriculture, https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=09461535e9555139c7d6471d1b26598d&mc=true&node=pt29.3.780&rgn=div5#se29.3.780_1103

Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 34 – Minimum Wage, https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-constitution/section-2.34a

Ohio Department of Commerce, 2022 Minimum Wage Poster, https://www.com.ohio.gov/documents/dico_2022MinimumWageposter.pdf

Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4111 – Minimum Fair Wage Standards, https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4111

U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, Field Operations Handbook Chapter 20 – Agriculture: Related and Seasonal Exemptions, https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/FOH_Ch20.pdf

U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, Fact Sheet #12: Agricultural Employers Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/whdfs12.pdf

Court of Appeals confirms decision not to allow weddings on hay farm as “agritourism”

When does the business of hosting weddings on a farm qualify as “agritourism” under Ohio law?  That was the question faced by Ohio’s Second District Court of Appeals in a legal battle between Caesarscreek Township and the owners of a farm property in Greene County.  The answer to the question is important because local zoning can’t prohibit the hosting of weddings and similar events if they fall under Ohio’s definition of “agritourism.”  Those that don’t qualify as “agritourism” are subject to local zoning prohibitions and regulations.  According to the court’s recent decision, the determination depends largely upon the facts of the situation, but merely taking place on an agricultural property does not automatically qualify a wedding or event as “agritourism.”

The case regards the Lusardis, who own a 13.5 acre property in Caesarscreek Township containing a pole barn and outbuilding, a one-acre pond, several acres of woods, and an eight acre hayfield on which the Lusardis had produced hay for several years.  Their plan was to offer corn mazes, hayrides and celebratory events like weddings and receptions on the property.  To do so, the Lusardis had to demonstrate to the township’s Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) that their activities fit within Ohio’s definition of “agritourism” and thus must be allowed according to Ohio law.   That definition in ORC 901.80 states:

“Agritourism means an agriculturally related educational, entertainment, historical, cultural, or recreational activity, including you-pick operations or farm markets, conducted on a farm that allows or invites members of the general public to observe, participate in or enjoy that activity.”

In applying the definition of agritourism to its local zoning, Caesarscreek Township requires an agritourism provider to explain how the “educational, entertainment, historical, cultural or recreational” activities it plans to offer are “agriculturally related” to the property and the surrounding agricultural community.  In their agritourism application with the township, the Lusardis explained that guests could use the property to celebrate an agriculturally themed event, enjoy the scenery, hay fields and woods, learn about plants and wildlife, have bonfires, play corn hole, fish, and get married outside, in the woods, or in the hayfield.  The township zoning inspector, however, testified to the BZA that he did not see a relationship between weddings and receptions and the Lusardi property itself.  A wedding or reception would not have a “basic relationship” to the existing agricultural use of the property or the surrounding area and the agricultural use of the property was incidental, at best, to the wedding and reception business, argued the zoning inspector.

The township BZA agreed with the zoning inspector.  It determined that the Lusardi’s corn maze and hayride activities qualified as agritourism, but held that any celebratory events such as weddings would not be “agriculturally related” to the property and thus did not fit within the definition of agritourism and could not take place on the property.  The Lusardis appealed the BZA’s decision to the Greene County Court of Common Pleas, whose duty under Ohio law was to determine whether the BZA’s conclusion was “unconstitutional, illegal, arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable or unsupported by the preponderance of substantial, reliable, and probative evidence on the whole record.”  The common pleas court found the BZA’s conclusion reasonable and upheld the decision.  The BZA’s determination that weddings don’t bear a general relevance to agriculture was understandable, whereas corn mazes and hay rides do bear a reasonable relationship to agriculture, the court stated.

The Lusardis appealed the common pleas court decision to the Ohio Court of Appeals.  Its duty in reviewing the case was to determine whether the common pleas court had abused its discretion by making a judgment on a question of law that is “unreasonable, arbitrary or unconscionable.”  The appellate court concluded that the common pleas court had not abused its discretion by affirming the BZA decision.  Agreeing that it was reasonable for the BZA to conclude that the celebratory events were not sufficiently related to the agricultural property, the court stated that “just because an activity is on agricultural property does not make it “agritourism” and is not, by itself, enough to make the activity “agriculturally related.” 

The “what does ‘agriculturally related’ mean?” question is one we’ve pondered since the Ohio legislature created the definition of agritourism in 2016.   An important rule to draw from this case is that the answer must be made on a case-by-case basis.  The Lusardis asked the court of appeals to decide whether any celebratory event on an agricultural property would be agriculturally related and would therefore constitute “agritourism” as a matter of law, but the court refused to do so.  “Whether a particular activity constitutes “agritourism” is an issue that shades to gray quite quickly,” stated the court.  “Given the great variety of factual situations, we decline to rule on whether celebratory events constitute “agritourism” as a matter of law.”

Also noteworthy is the court’s attention to the BZA’s analysis of the activities that were to take place on the Lusardi property.  The BZA pointed to a lack of evidence that any crops or flowers grown on the property would be used in the events.  Also remiss was evidence that the only agricultural crop grown on the property—hay—was somehow connected to the celebratory events that would take place.  The court observed that these evidentiary flaws supported the BZA’s conclusion that the Lusardis were proposing an event venue with an incidental theme rather than an agricultural activity with an incidental event. 

Wedding barn issues have been a cause of controversy in recent years.  The Lusardi v. Caesarscreek Township decision follows an Ohio Supreme Court case earlier this year regarding whether a wedding barn fit within the agricultural exemption from zoning for buildings and structures used “primarily for vinting and selling wine.”  In that case, the Supreme Court determined that making and selling wine was the primary use of the barn and that weddings and events were incidental, yet were related to the production because event guests had to purchase the wine produced at the farm.  Taken together, these cases illustrate the importance Ohio’s agricultural zoning exemption places on production activities.  Where agricultural goods are being produced and sold, additional incidental activities such as celebratory events that are related to agricultural production will likely fall under the agricultural exemption.  But as the Lusardi case illustrates, local zoning may prohibit celebratory events that don’t have a clear connection to agricultural production and instead appear to be the primary rather than incidental use of the property.

Read the case of Lusardi v. Caesarscreek Township Board of Zoning Appeals here.

Agritourism webinar presents opportunities, trends, and legal issues for agritourism

It wasn’t that long ago that “agritourism” was an unfamiliar term to in the agricultural community.  But agritourism has been on the rise in the U.S. and agritourism income tripled between 2002 and 2017.  Many farmers and ranchers are now familiar with the economic benefits agritourism presents.   Along with the agritourism industry’s continued growth and prospects, however, has been an evolution of laws and legal issues.

Join me with OSU Extension Educators Eric Barrett and Rob Leeds on August 19, 2020 for a free webinar on “The Evolution of Agritourism:  Current Legal Issues and Future Trends,” hosted by the National Agricultural Law Center.  We’ll examine opportunities in agritourism today and the legal challenges agritourism faces from COVID-19 and other anticipated legal issues.   Here’s what we’ll cover:

• What’s new and hot:  agritourism marketing trends and opportunities
• In the courts:  litigation against agritourism operations
• COVID-19:  legal issues for agritourism
• What may come:  anticipated legal challenges for the future
• How to deal with it:  thoughts on  managing agritourism legal risk

Additional information and a registration link for the webinar are available at https://nationalaglawcenter.org/webinars/agritourism2020/.    If you can’t make the live webinar, visit the same page later for a recorded version.

This webinar and the Ohio Ag Law Blog are supported by the USDA’s National Agricultural Library, in partnership with the National Agricultural Law Center.