H. 89, A Bill Related to Limiting Liability for Agritourism, Signed into Law

On May 17th, Governor Scott signed H.89 (Act 31), a bill related to limiting liability for agritourism, into law. Agritourism is a growing sector which allows Vermont farms to diversify their income.

Under this bill, liability is limited for certain activities including: recreational, entertainment, and educational activities, including farming, food production, historical, cultural, pick-your-own, and nature-based activities. Lodging at a farm or shopping at a farmstand are not considered “agritourism activities”, and therefore these activities are not covered by H.89.

The bill protects farms that choose to open themselves up to visitors in the event that a guest is injured due to interactions with animals, conditions of the land, or “ordinary dangers” of farm equipment. This does not absolve the farm from liability if the farmer is aware of a danger and fails to warn the participants, if the farmer intentionally causes harm to a participant, or other cases of gross negligence. 

In order to fall under the protections of this bill, farms must post a sign with the following:

“WARNING: Under Vermont law, an agritourism host is not liable for the injury or death of a participant in an agritourism activity resulting from the inherent risk of the agritourism activity. Inherent risks include the risk of animals, weather, land conditions, and the potential for you as a participant to act in a negligent way that may contribute to your own injury or death. You are assuming the risk of participating in this agritourism activity.” 

Note: The sign must be placed at or near the main entrance to each agritourism activity. It must be clearly visible with black letters at least one inch in height. Any contract signed between an agritourism host and a participant must also include this warning.