Senate File 356 - Enrolled
Senate File 356
AN ACT
LIMITING CIVIL LIABILITY FOR PERSONS INVOLVED IN AGRICULTURAL
TOURISM.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 461C.10 Limitation on liability.
2 The limitation on legal liability provided in this chapter
3 is in addition to any other limitation of legal liability
4 otherwise provided by law, including as provided in chapters
5 673 and 673A.
6 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 673.6 Limitation on liability.
7 The limitation on legal liability provided in this chapter
8 is in addition to any other limitation of legal liability
9 otherwise provided by law, including as provided in chapters
10 461C and 673A.
11 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 673A.1 Short title.
12 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Iowa
13 Agricultural Tourism Promotion Act”.
14 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 673A.2 Purpose.
15 1. The general assembly finds all of the following:
16 a. Agriculture is a vital part of this state’s economy,
17 culture, and history.
18 b. An increasing number of Iowans are removed from
19 day-to-day farm life and associated agricultural experiences.
20 c. Agricultural tourism provides a valuable opportunity
21 for the general public to understand farm life and associated
22 agricultural experiences.
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23 d. Farming includes a number of hazards which cannot
24 be removed for the benefit of visitors to a farm without
25 detracting from the farm experience visitors receive, including
26 the daily experience of working on a farm.
27 2. The general assembly declares that uncertainty regarding
28 the potential liability associated with places on a farm and
29 the inherent risks of farming have a negative impact upon the
30 establishment and success of agricultural tourism and its
31 benefits to the people of this state.
32 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 673A.3 Definitions.
33 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
34 requires:
35 1. “Agricultural tourism farm” means a farm to which
1 members of the public are invited to visit by or on behalf
2 of an agricultural tourism farmer or agricultural tourism
3 professional, for the purpose of allowing members of the public
4 to experience places on a farm and participate in farming
5 activities, regardless of whether a member of the public pays
6 for the visit.
7 2. “Agricultural tourism farmer” means a farmer who owns or
8 leases an agricultural tourism farm.
9 3. “Agricultural tourism professional” means a person who
10 is engaged in managing a visit by a member of the public to an
11 agricultural tourism farm, including any agricultural tourism
12 activity conducted on the premises of an agricultural tourism
13 farm, regardless of whether the person receives compensation.
14 4. a. “Agricultural tourist” means a person who enters
15 on to the premises of an agricultural tourism farm as a
16 visitor to experience places on the farm and participate in
17 farming activities pursuant to an invitation by or on behalf
18 of an agricultural tourism farmer or agricultural tourism
19 professional, regardless of whether the person provides
20 compensation in exchange for the visit.
21 b. “Agricultural tourist” does not mean any of the
22 following:
23 (1) An employee of, agent of, or person receiving
24 compensation from an agricultural tourism farmer, agricultural
25 tourism professional, or person engaged in farming the
26 agricultural tourism farm.
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27 (2) (a) A family member of an agricultural tourism farmer,
28 agricultural tourism professional, or person engaged in farming
29 the agricultural tourism farm.
30 (b) As used in subparagraph division (a), “family member”
31 means a spouse, child, grandchild, parent, sibling, niece, or
32 nephew, or the spouse of a child, grandchild, parent, sibling,
33 niece, or nephew.
34 (3) A social guest of an agricultural tourism farmer,
35 agricultural tourism professional, or person engaged in farming
1 the agricultural tourism farm.
2 5. “Claim” means a claim, counterclaim, cross-claim,
3 complaint, cross-complaint, or cause of action recognized by
4 the Iowa rules of civil procedure and brought in court on
5 account of allegation of an injury, loss, or death.
6 6. a. “Farm” means land, including buildings or other
7 structures, and improvements used to produce or process a farm
8 commodity, if all of the following apply:
9 (1) The land is owned or leased by a farmer.
10 (2) At least ten thousand dollars was generated from the
11 production of farm commodities produced on the land in the last
12 year.
13 b. “Farm” includes but is not limited to a farm field,
14 orchard, nursery, greenhouse, garden, elevator, seedhouse,
15 barn, warehouse, animal feeding operation structure, winery,
16 brewery, distillery, or any personal property located on the
17 land including machinery or equipment used in the production of
18 a farm commodity.
19 7. “Farm animal” means any of the following:
20 a. An animal belonging to the bovine, caprine, ovine,
21 or porcine species; farm deer as defined in section 170.1;
22 ostriches, rheas, or emus; turkeys, chickens, or other poultry;
23 fish or other aquatic organisms confined in private waters for
24 human consumption; or bees.
25 b. A horse, pony, mule, jenny, donkey, or hinny.
26 8. “Farm commodity” means a farm crop or farm animal
27 produced or maintained on a farm.
28 9. “Farm crop” means a plant used for food, animal feed,
29 fiber, or oil, including any of the following:
30 a. A forage or cereal plant, including but not limited to
 Senate File 356, p. 4
31 alfalfa, barley, buckwheat, corn, flax, forage, millet, oats,
32 popcorn, rye, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, wheat, and grasses
33 used for forage or silage.
34 b. Edible or ornamental produce, including but not limited
35 to fruit such as apples, cherries, peaches, pears, berries, and
1 grapes; vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, and carrots;
2 lentils; tubers; squashes and pumpkins; gourds; and flowers.
3 10. “Farmer” means a person who holds any of the following:
4 a. An ownership or leasehold interest in land used for
5 farming.
6 b. An equity interest in a business entity that holds land
7 for use in farming as any of the following:
8 (1) A family farm corporation, authorized farm corporation,
9 family farm limited partnership, limited partnership, family
10 farm limited liability company, authorized limited liability
11 company, family trust, or authorized trust, all as defined in
12 section 9H.1.
13 (2) A limited liability partnership as defined in section
14 486A.101.
15 11. “Farming” means to do any of the following:
16 a. Produce a farm commodity, including by doing any of the
17 following:
18 (1) Planting, nurturing, maintaining, inspecting,
19 exhibiting, harvesting, handling, storing, or moving a farm
20 crop.
21 (2) Producing, breeding, maintaining, handling, confining,
22 moving, inspecting, or exhibiting a farm animal.
23 b. Engage in an on-farm processing operation in which
24 the form or condition of a farm commodity originating from
25 the farm is changed and prepared or packaged for human use,
26 including but not limited to a dairy, creamery, winery,
27 brewery, distillery, cannery, bakery, butcher shop, smokehouse,
28 or tannery.
29 12. a. “Inherent risk of farming” means a danger or hazard
30 that is an integral part of being in a particular place on a
31 farm or participating in a specific farming activity, if the
32 danger or hazard would be reasonably foreseeable by a person
33 generally familiar with that type of farm or farming activity.
34 b. “Inherent risk of farming” includes but is not limited
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35 to a condition or use of the land, including improvements, and
1 any machinery, equipment, or tack, employed in the production
2 or maintenance of farm commodities on the land, the processing
3 of commodities on the same land as they were produced, and the
4 behavior of farm animals or other domestic or wild animals
5 which are present on the land.
6 13. “Person engaged in farming” means an individual
7 contributing physical labor or making management decisions
8 related to any of the following:
9 a. The production or maintenance of a farm commodity on a
10 farm.
11 b. The on-farm processing of a farm commodity produced or
12 maintained on that same farm.
13 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 673A.4 Limitation on liability ——
14 inherent risk of farming.
15 1. Subject to the conditions of this chapter, an
16 agricultural tourism farmer, an agricultural tourism
17 professional, or a person engaged in farming the agricultural
18 tourism farm is not liable for any act or omission causing
19 injury, loss, or death suffered by an agricultural tourist if
20 all of the following apply:
21 a. The injury, loss, or death was caused while the
22 agricultural tourist was visiting the agricultural tourism
23 farm.
24 b. The act or omission that caused the injury, loss, or
25 death was associated with an inherent risk of farming.
26 2. Subject to the conditions of this chapter, an
27 agricultural tourism farmer, an agricultural tourism
28 professional, or a person engaged in farming on the
29 agricultural tourism farm is not liable for any injury, loss,
30 or death suffered by an agricultural tourist, if any of the
31 following apply:
32 a. The agricultural tourist contributed to the injury,
33 loss, or death of that agricultural tourist or to another
34 agricultural tourist.
35 b. The agricultural tourist failed to comply with reasonable
1 verbal or written instructions or warnings provided by
2 the agricultural tourism farmer, the agricultural tourism
3 professional, or a person engaged in farming.
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4 c. The injury, loss, or death occurred at a place where a
5 reasonable person would not enter as part of a visit to the
6 agricultural tourism farm. A legible and conspicuous notice
7 that the place is not part of a visit is sufficient to satisfy
8 this requirement.
9 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 673A.5 Limitation on liability ——
10 affirmative defense.
11 1. In any claim alleging an act or omission causing
12 injury, loss, or death suffered by an agricultural tourist on
13 an agricultural tourism farm, it is an affirmative defense
14 that an agricultural tourism farmer, an agricultural tourism
15 professional, or a person engaged in farming the agricultural
16 tourism farm is not liable pursuant to section 673A.4.
17 2. The affirmative defense described in subsection 1 is in
18 addition to any other limitation of legal liability otherwise
19 provided by law, including as provided in chapters 461C and
20 673.
21 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION. 673A.6 Limitation on liability ——
22 notice required.
23 1. As a condition of being able to plead an affirmative
24 defense as provided in section 673A.5, a notice of the inherent
25 risk of farming must have been provided to an agricultural
26 tourist prior to an alleged injury, loss, or death caused
27 by the agricultural tourism farmer, agricultural tourism
28 professional, or person engaged in farming the agricultural
29 tourism farm.
30 2. A notice required by this section must have been posted
31 on the premises of an agricultural tourism farm. The notice
32 must have been posted in a conspicuous location where the
33 agricultural tourist was first allowed to enter the premises of
34 an agricultural tourism farm. The notice must have appeared in
35 black letters a minimum of one inch high and in the following
1 form:
2 IOWA AGRICULTURAL TOURISM PROMOTION ACT
3 IOWA CODE CHAPTER 673A
4 You are visiting a working farm as a participant who is
5 either observing or contributing to the success of farming
6 activities. Under Iowa law you are assuming liability for any
7 hazard that you may encounter. A hazard includes inherent risk
 Senate File 356, p. 7
8 of participating in a farming activity or disregarding written
9 or verbal instructions. Farming includes dangerous conditions
10 present on land and in structures, unpredictable behavior
11 of farm animals, dangers associated with the operation of
12 equipment and machinery, and potential wrongful acts of another
13 visitor. Be careful.
14 3. A notice required by this section must have been included
15 in any written contract entered into by the agricultural
16 tourist and either the agricultural tourism farmer or
17 agricultural tourism professional. A notice required by
18 this section must have been included in any written waiver
19 which must be signed and dated by an agricultural tourist.
20 The notice must have included the same language provided in
21 subsection 2 and printed in twelve point boldface type.
22 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION. 673A.7 Limitation on liability ——
23 exceptions.
24 The limitation on liability provided in section 673A.4 and
25 the affirmative defense authorized under section 673A.5 do not
26 apply to the extent that all of the following conditions are
27 met:
28 1. An injury, loss, or death suffered by an agricultural
29 tourist was caused by the act or omission of an agricultural
30 tourism farmer, an agricultural tourism professional, or a
31 person engaged in farming on the agricultural tourism farm.
32 2. The act or omission described in subsection 1 was any of
33 the following:
34 a. Illegal.
35 b. Intentional.
1 c. The result of willful misconduct, gross negligence or
2 incompetence amounting to such lack of care as to amount to
3 wanton neglect for the safety of another, or recklessness.
4 d. Due to intoxication by alcohol, a drug, or a combination
5 of such substances.
6 e. The result of a failure to notify an agricultural
7 tourist of a dangerous latent condition on the farm, including
8 a building or other structure, or equipment or machinery
9 regardless of whether it was operational, if the dangerous
10 latent condition was known or should have been known by
11 the agricultural tourism farmer or agricultural tourism
 Senate File 356, p. 8
12 professional.
13 f. A condition or event existing at the agricultural
14 tourism farm that was not reasonably foreseeable by a person
15 generally familiar with farming, even though such condition or
16 farming activity would have been foreseeable at another type
17 of agricultural tourism farm.
______________________________ ______________________________
JAKE CHAPMAN PAT GRASSLEY
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that this bill originated in the Senate and
is known as Senate File 356, Eighty-ninth General Assembly.
______________________________
W. CHARLES SMITHSON
Secretary of the Senate
Approved _______________, 2021 ______________________________
KIM REYNOLDS
Governor