Limited Liability for Farmers Part of Louisiana’s Legislative Success

Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M. believes his first regular session with the Louisiana Legislature was an overwhelming success for farm and forestry interests. Strain says lawmakers passed 23 of the bills his department supported.

Among those he cited as important to farmers: HB 633, sponsored by Representative John F. “Andy” Anders, which limits liability for those involved in “agritourism.”

“It’s an important issue,” Strain said. “To make ends meet, more and more farmers are opening their land to the general public for corn maze, pumpkin patch, field tours and other guided activities. High liability insurance costs were reducing opportunities for farmers to turn a profit and stay in business.”

Also important, Strain said, was the creation of a grain elevator and cotton warehouse indemnification fund via HB 1253.

He says an assessment of 1/25 of one percent of all grain and cotton sold in the state will be collected until the indemification fund hits $6 million.

“In the last 11 years there have been seven grain elevator insolvencies,” Strain said. “The money owed to famers averaged $482,000. In the last insolvency, farmers were owed just about a million dollars and not paid.”

Another agriculture-related insurance bill passed by the legislature was SB 198, which allows Louisiana to participate in the Interstate Pest Control Compact and creates a pest control insurance fund to help deal with destructive plant pest outbreaks.

Despite the legislative successes, Strain said some of the department’s funding requests were denied. “Louisiana has a $20 billion agriculture and forestry industry,” Strain said. “One in six residents work in agriculture, but despite the critical needs of our industry … [w]e must now resolve to do more with less.”

Sources: Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, www.ldaf.state.la.us/portal/, Associated Press

Topics Louisiana Agribusiness