COLUMBUS, Ohio — State Rep. Tony Burkley (R-Payne) from northwestern Ohio has introduced legislation to protect farmers working in agritourism from civil suits stemming from injuries visitors may get going on hay and trail rides, picking apples and numerous other pursuits.

The number of Ohio farms featuring an agritourism component more than doubled to about 650 between 2002 and 2012, according to a recent analysis from the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF). It defines agritourism as an “agriculturally related educational, entertainment, historical, cultural or recreational activity,” which includes U-pick operations or farm markets on-site.

Ohio law doesn’t directly regulate agritourism, but lawmakers introduced legislation late last year that proposes to clarify agritourism uses in property tax law and local zoning, as well as give farm operators certain protections in liability. Twenty-eight states currently have laws on the books that address agritourism, according to the National AgLaw Center.

The Ohio bill expired at the end of last year, but the state House and Senate each introduced its own version of the legislation earlier this year. OFBF State Policy Director Brandon Kern said he expects the bills to pass sometime in this two-year legislative cycle and hopes it will encourage more Ohio farmers to add some form of agritourism to their farms.

“With the average American being three generations removed from a farm, agritourism is seen as another way to form a partnership between farmers and consumers,” he explained. “Farmers want to share their stories, and a great deal of that is told through agritourism. In addition, agritourism has generated supplement income to sustain a living for farmers.”

House Bill 80 and Senate Bill 75 propose to do three essential things:

•Clarify that agritourism land receive the same zoning protections as agricultural land

•Clarify that agritourism land should fall under the state’s Current Agricultural Use Value

•Provide farm operators immunity from civil action liability if a participant is harmed as a result of a defined risk inherent to an agritourism activity

According to Kern, farmers would have to post warning signs noting the risks and informing visitors of the new law. The Legislative Service Commission would require each letter in the notice to be a minimum of 1 inch in height.

Kern said the OFBF isn’t asking that farmers have zero responsibility for an injured guest, but thinks they should be immune from civil legal action against inherent risks on a farm, such as “surface conditions of the land, behavior of farm animals and ordinary dangers of structures and equipment in agriculture.”

If these bills pass, farmers will have greater access to liability insurance to launch an agritourism component on their farm, and farms with agritourism might begin paying lower premiums, Kern said.

“The goal of this legislation is to help protect Ohio’s farmers who seek to educate the public about our number one industry without fear of unjustified litigation,” Burkley added.

The bill had its first hearing in late March before the House’s Agriculture and Rural Development Committee.