Texas Agritourism Insurance: The $1 Million Mistake Hiding Behind the Sign on Your Gate

4 hours ago

17 min read

How the Texas Agritourism Act really protects your farm, the five holes a plaintiff's lawyer will drive a pickup through, and the insurance setup that closes them before your next paying guest walks through the gate.

Visitors riding a covered farm wagon at a pumpkin patch during fall agritourism season

Picture a Saturday in October somewhere in the Hill Country. Four hundred people in your pumpkin patch. Kids stacked on the hay wagon. Your best seasonal hire on the tractor. The cash box is full and the parking field is fuller.

Then a board on the wagon gives way.

Nobody plans for that moment. But how that moment ends for your farm was decided months earlier. It was decided by a sign you did or didn't hang, a form you did or didn't hand out, and an insurance policy you did or didn't actually read.

Here is the uncomfortable truth most Texas farm owners learn too late: the Texas Agritourism Act is a defense, not a force field. It is one of the better farm liability laws in the country. It costs you nothing. And it still will not stop anyone from suing you. It will not pay your lawyer. And it will not apply at all if a jury decides you "should have known" that board was rotten.

Insurance pays for those things. The Act decides how often you need it. Smart operators use both, and they use them together.

This guide shows you exactly how. Inside you'll find:

The exact sign and release wording Texas law requires, word for word (paraphrase it and you hand the other side an argument)
The five exceptions that strip your protection, and why the second one catches the most farms
A little-known Texas statute that can cap your liability at $1 million per incident, but only if you carry the right insurance
Why Texas employers face a lawsuit risk that farmers in no other state face
What agritourism coverage really costs, and 10 questions to ask before you sign anything
A protection checklist you can work through this weekend

A note before we start. I run a farm that welcomes visitors from around the world, and it has been featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun. I am not your lawyer, and nothing here is legal advice. Everything below is built on the statutes themselves, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension's legal guidance, USDA census data and published research, with sources at the end. Take it to your Texas attorney and your insurance agent and make them earn their fees.

Texas Is America's Agritourism Heavyweight. That's Exactly Why You're Exposed.

Start with the numbers, because they explain everything that follows.

In the 2022 Census of Agriculture, 4,816 Texas farms and ranches reported income from agritourism and recreational services. That is the most of any state in the South. Together they took in $191.8 million, up 18% from $162.6 million in 2017 (USDA NASS; Southern Ag Today).

Look closer and something interesting shows up. The number of Texas agritourism farms fell by about 900 over those five years, while the money went up. Average agritourism income per farm jumped from $28,406 to $39,824, a 40% rise. Fewer farms are hosting more people, or charging more per visit, or both.

Texas also dominates the top of the market. Of the 50 U.S. counties earning the most from agritourism, eight are in Texas, more than any other state (USDA Economic Research Service). Nationally, agritourism brought in $1.26 billion in 2022.

Every one of those dollars came with a person attached. A person who walked, climbed, rode, petted, fished, hunted or ate something on a working farm. That's the business. It's also the risk.

Bar chart: 2,674 of 4,816 Texas agritourism farms earned under $10,000 from visitors in 2022, while farms earning $25,000 or more took 87.5% of agritourism income

Now read that chart the way an underwriter would. More than half of Texas agritourism farms (2,674 of 4,816) gross under $10,000 a year from visitors. Meanwhile, one in four farms earns $25,000 or more and collects 88% of all the agritourism money in the state.

If you are in that first group, here is the math that should keep you up at night. Say you gross $8,000 a year from farm visits. A single uninsured $250,000 judgment equals 31 years of that revenue. The small operator isn't the one who can skip insurance. The small operator is the one who can least survive going without it.

The Texas jury factor. Texas led the nation with 23 "nuclear" verdicts of $10 million or more in 2024 (Insurance Journal), and Texas juries returned 29 more in 2025 totaling about $3.3 billion (O'Dwyer's, on Marathon Strategies' 2026 report). To be fair, those cases hit corporations, mostly trucking, product and patent defendants, not pumpkin patches. But they come from the same jury pools that would hear a hayride case. And a farm with a gift shop, a ticket booth and an LLC looks a lot like a business to twelve strangers in a jury box.

What the Texas Agritourism Act Actually Says (In Plain English)

The Texas Agritourism Act passed in 2015 as Senate Bill 610. It lives in Chapter 75A of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension). It is short, and every word in it matters.

The core promise is simple. An "agritourism entity" is not liable for an "agritourism participant's" injury, as long as you do one of two things before the activity: post the required sign, or get the required signed release.

But the protection only switches on if you fit four definitions. Here they are, stripped of legalese (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §75A.001):

Agricultural land. Texas land suitable for growing crops, fiber, flowers, vines, nursery plants or seed, or for keeping farm or ranch animals for use or profit. Notice the word "suitable." Your pasture qualifies even if no cattle are on it today. One surprise: unlike some other Texas landowner laws, this definition does not include land suited only for forestry (AgriLife FAQ).
Agritourism activity. Any activity on that land for recreational or educational purposes, whether or not you charge for it. "Recreation" borrows the very broad list from the Recreational Use Statute: hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, picnicking, nature study, ATV riding, swimming and other ways of enjoying the outdoors.
Agritourism entity. Anyone in the business of providing those activities, paid or not, including someone who displays exotic animals to the public on agricultural land.
Agritourism participant. Any individual engaged in the activity, except your employees. Write that one down. We will come back to it.

The injuries covered are broad too: bodily injury, emotional distress, death, property damage or any other loss arising from participation.

Option 1: The sign

The sign must sit in a clearly visible location on or near the premises where the activity happens. And it must carry this exact language:

WARNING: UNDER TEXAS LAW (CHAPTER 75A, CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE), AN AGRITOURISM ENTITY IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INJURY TO OR DEATH OF AN AGRITOURISM PARTICIPANT RESULTING FROM AN AGRITOURISM ACTIVITY.

You can have the sign made anywhere, as long as the wording is exact. Texas Farm Bureau, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and the Texas Wildlife Association all sell compliant versions (AgriLife FAQ; TSCRA).

Option 2: The signed release

The written agreement only counts if it checks all five boxes (AgriLife):

☐ Signed before the person participates
☐ Signed by the participant, or by a parent or guardian if the participant is a minor
☐ A separate document, not buried in your ticket terms (it may only be combined with another warning, consent or assumption-of-risk form)
☐ Printed in at least 10-point bold type
☐ Contains this exact language:

AGREEMENT AND WARNING: I UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AN AGRITOURISM ENTITY IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INJURY TO OR DEATH OF AN AGRITOURISM PARTICIPANT RESULTING FROM AGRITOURISM ACTIVITIES. I UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE ACCEPTED ALL RISK OF INJURY, DEATH, PROPERTY DAMAGE, AND OTHER LOSS THAT MAY RESULT FROM AGRITOURISM ACTIVITIES.

Why you want both

The law only requires one. Do both anyway. Here's why.

The sign covers people who never signed anything: the uncle who tagged along, the neighbor's kid, the photographer your wedding couple hired. The release covers the people who matter most in a lawsuit: children.

Texas courts are protective of minors. Texas A&M's agricultural law experts note that at least one Texas appellate court has refused to enforce a parent's pre-injury release on a child's behalf, and the Texas Supreme Court had not settled the question when they published their guidance (AgriLife FAQ). The Agritourism Act, unlike a generic waiver, expressly lets a guardian sign for a minor. That statutory permission may be the difference between a dismissed claim and a trial.

The cheapest protection you'll ever buy. A compliant sign usually costs less than one family's admission on a busy Saturday. A release form costs a box of printer paper. These are the cheapest liability tools you will ever buy. If you have neither, stop reading and order the sign today.

The Five Holes a Plaintiff's Lawyer Will Drive a Pickup Through

Here is where most farm owners get blindsided. The Act gives you protection, then takes it right back in five situations. Your protection does not apply if the injury was caused by (AgriLife FAQ; Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ch. 75A):

Negligence showing disregard for the guest's safety. Not ordinary carelessness. Something worse. But "worse" is exactly what the other side will argue.
A dangerous condition you knew about, or reasonably should have known about, on the land, facilities or equipment used in the activity. This is the big one. Rotten wagon boards. A loose railing on the observation deck. A frayed tow strap. A slick spot by the wash station that floods every time it rains.
An animal's dangerous tendency you knew or should have known about, and didn't disclose. The goat that head-butts. The pony that bites when kids hold the feed cup wrong.
Failure to adequately train an employee actively involved in the activity. Your 17-year-old tractor driver with no written training record is a gift to opposing counsel.
Intentional harm. Rare, but it's in there.

A farm visitor petting a goat in an animal contact area

Notice the pattern? Three of the five turn on what you knew or should have known. That's a fact question. Fact questions are rarely settled early, which means they're expensive. As Texas A&M's ag law team warns, an injured guest can still sue and claim an exception applies, and that claim alone can be enough to drag the case into discovery (AgriLife).

The "should have known" trap. Every hazard you walk past without writing down becomes, in hindsight, a hazard you "should have known" about. Every hazard you inspect, log and fix becomes evidence you were careful. Your inspection clipboard is a legal document. Treat it like one.

Three more gaps nobody puts on the brochure

Gap 1: Your employees aren't covered at all. The Act excludes employees from the definition of "participant." If your seasonal worker gets hurt, the Act does nothing. More on why that's especially dangerous in Texas in a moment.

Gap 2: Weddings and events may fall outside it. No appellate court has ruled on weddings under the Agritourism Act. But in Sullivan v. City of Fort Worth, a Texas court held that an outdoor wedding and reception was not "recreation" under the Recreational Use Statute. The Agritourism Act uses the same definition of recreation, which gives a plaintiff a persuasive argument that your barn wedding isn't protected (AgriLife FAQ).

Gap 3: Getting sued costs money even when you win. The Act is a defense you raise in court. You still need a lawyer to raise it. Without a liability policy that provides a defense, you're paying those fees yourself.

Texas gives you three shields. Stack all of them.

The good news: the Agritourism Act expressly adds to, rather than replaces, your other protections. Two other Texas statutes can work alongside it, and one of them has a direct link to your insurance.

Statute	What it protects	What you must do	Biggest limitation
Agritourism Act (Ch. 75A)	Recreational or educational visitors on agricultural land	Post the exact sign or get the exact signed release	Five exceptions; employees excluded; weddings uncertain
Recreational Use Statute (Ch. 75)	People entering your land for recreation	Meet one money test: no fee, fees under 20x your property taxes, or carry minimum liability insurance	"Recreation" may not cover events; the fee test is easy to fail
Farm Animal Liability Act (Ch. 87)	Injuries from the inherent risks of farm animals	Post the Chapter 87 warning sign near the stable, corral or arena	Does not cover faulty tack or failing to assess a participant's ability

The insurance switch hidden in the Recreational Use Statute

Here's the part almost nobody explains. The Recreational Use Statute only protects you if you pass one of three money tests (AgriLife):

You charge nothing for entry, or
Your total recreational fees last year were no more than 20 times your property taxes, or
For agricultural land, you carry liability insurance of at least $500,000 per person, $1 million per occurrence for bodily injury or death, and $100,000 per occurrence for property damage (a $1 million combined single limit also works).

Now think about test number two. Ag-valued land in Texas often carries a modest tax bill. If your property taxes are $2,500 a year, your recreational fee ceiling is $50,000. A busy fall season can blow through that by mid-October.

That leaves test number three. And here's the kicker. For owners of agricultural land who carry that coverage, the statute also caps liability at $500,000 per person and $1 million per occurrence for bodily injury or death (Texas Recreational Use Statute, §75.004).

Read that again. The right policy limits don't just pay claims. In qualifying recreational cases, they can switch on a statutory ceiling on what you can be made to pay. That's why Texas operators should treat $1 million per occurrence as the floor, not the ceiling.

Don't forget the animal sign. If guests touch, feed, ride or walk near livestock, hang the Chapter 87 sign too. Texas Farm Bureau sells both signs. Since September 1, 2021, the farm animal sign must use the updated statutory wording, so check that an older sign still matches (AgriLife FALA FAQ).

The Insurance Layer: What Actually Pays When Something Goes Wrong

The Act reduces how often you'll be found liable. Insurance pays when you are, and pays your lawyer either way. Texas A&M's own extension guidance is blunt on this: the Act is not a substitute for insurance (AgriLife FAQ).

Flowchart of how a Texas agritourism injury claim is handled under Chapter 75A and where liability insurance pays

Follow any injury through Texas law and you land in the same place: your policy. Even when the Act wins the case, someone has to pay the lawyer who wins it.

The trap is assuming the farm policy you already have covers visitors. Usually it doesn't, or not fully. Ohio State's agricultural law program puts it plainly: a standard farm liability policy generally does not cover agritourism unless you add a specific agritourism rider (Ohio State University). Nationwide, one of the largest farm insurers, tells farmers to inform their agent before they start using the farm for agritourism (Nationwide).

Here is how the pieces fit for a typical Texas operation. (For a deeper, state-neutral breakdown of every coverage type, see my full guide, Agritourism Insurance: What It Covers, What It Costs and How to Get Quotes.)

Coverage	What it pays for	The common gap	Who needs it
Farm owner's policy (farm liability)	Injuries tied to normal farming operations	Often excludes or limits business activities involving the paying public	Every farm, as the base layer
Agritourism or "business activities" endorsement	Extends farm liability to named visitor activities	Covers only the activities listed; anything new is uncovered until you add it	Small pick-your-own, tours, farm stands
Commercial general liability (CGL)	Guest injuries and property damage at a business	May need specific classes for hayrides, mazes, animals	Larger or multi-activity farms
Product liability	Illness or injury from food you sell or serve	Farm policies often exclude foodborne illness	Anyone selling jams, baked goods, cider, meals
Liquor liability	Claims tied to alcohol you sell or serve	Almost always excluded from general liability	Wineries, breweries, events serving alcohol
Commercial auto or hayride coverage	Guests carried on wagons, trams or vehicles	Personal and farm auto policies often exclude carrying the public	Hayrides, shuttles, field tours
Workers' compensation or employer's liability	Your employees' injuries	Texas lets you opt out, at a steep legal price	Anyone with staff, even seasonal
Umbrella or excess liability	Claims bigger than your primary limits	Only sits on top of the policies beneath it	Any farm with real visitor volume

Two of these rows deserve their own warning in Texas.

The hayride exclusion

Agricultural risk specialists list this among the most common mistakes new agritourism ventures make: assuming the auto policy covers guests, when it excludes "public livery," meaning carrying the public (Agricultural Marketing Resource Center). A wagon full of paying guests behind a farm tractor is exactly the kind of exposure underwriters want named on the policy. Ask about it by name.

The Texas workers' comp trap

Texas is the only state that lets most private employers opt out of workers' compensation entirely. Many farm owners do, to save on premiums. Here's what that costs you.

An employer who opts out, called a "nonsubscriber," can be sued directly by an injured employee. And under Texas Labor Code §406.033, that employer loses three of its best defenses: that the worker was negligent, that the worker assumed the risk, and that a co-worker caused the injury (Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer).

Now combine that with what we already know. The Agritourism Act does not protect you against employee injuries. So your seasonal tractor driver, your parking attendant and your teenager running the corn cannon are all outside the Act. If you're a nonsubscriber with no employer's liability coverage, you're facing those claims with no statutory shield and fewer defenses than an employer in any other state.

If you opt out, don't go bare. If workers' comp doesn't fit your budget, ask your agent about nonsubscriber employer's liability or occupational accident coverage. Going without either, while hiring seasonal help for your busiest weekends, is the single riskiest setup a Texas farm can run.

Don't overlook food and animals

If guests eat what you make or touch what you raise, you have exposures the Agritourism Act was never designed for. The CDC reports roughly 100 outbreaks of human illness linked to animals in public settings such as fairs, zoos and educational farms between 2010 and 2015, with E. coli, Salmonella and Cryptosporidium among the most common culprits (CDC). Young children are among the most vulnerable. Hand-washing stations at every animal exit are cheap. A foodborne-illness claim is not.

What Texas Agritourism Insurance Costs (and How to Pay Less)

Nobody can quote your farm without seeing it. Anyone who gives you a firm number over the phone is guessing. But you deserve reference points before you walk into an agent's office, so here they are.

Reference point	Typical annual cost	Source and caveat
Farm liability insurance, U.S. range	About $1,000 to $6,500; most small and mid-size farms $1,500 to $3,500	CostHQ, industry estimate
Endorsements and riders (agritourism, product liability)	About $25 to $500 each	CostHQ, industry estimate
Small-business general liability, stand-alone	$810 average	The Hartford, all small-business customers, not farm-specific
Small-business owner's policy (BOP)	$1,687 average	The Hartford, same caveat
Small-business workers' compensation	$1,032 average	The Hartford, same caveat

Treat those as a sanity check, not a quote. A hayride-and-petting-zoo operation with 20,000 visitors will price very differently from a quiet bird-watching ranch.

Now put it in perspective. The average Texas agritourism farm grossed $39,824 from visitors in 2022. If your package premium came in at $2,500, that's about 6 cents of every visitor dollar to protect the land, the house and the business behind it. Build that cost into your ticket price from day one. Not pricing in insurance is one of the classic mistakes agricultural risk specialists see in new ventures (AgMRC).

What drives your premium up or down

Your activity list. Animals, wagons, water, climbing structures, alcohol and overnight stays each carry their own rating.
Your volume. Many policies are rated on visitor receipts, so growth means re-rating.
Your limits. Higher limits cost more, but in Texas the $1 million mark has unusual value (see the Recreational Use Statute above).
Your paper trail. Written safety plans, inspection logs, training records and signed releases make you a better risk.
Your state's law. Insurers weigh how strong your state's agritourism protection is when they set prices (Ohio State University). Texas operators who comply with the Act should make sure their agent knows it.

10 questions to ask your Texas agent before you sign

Print this list. Get every answer in writing.

Does my policy cover the public on my farm for a fee, or only farm operations and personal guests?
Which of my activities are named on the policy, and what happens if I add a new one mid-season?
Are hayrides or wagon rides covered, or does the auto policy exclude carrying the public?
Are animal contact areas and petting zoos covered, including illness claims?
Is foodborne illness from food I make or sell covered?
Do I need liquor liability for anything I sell, serve or allow guests to bring?
Are weddings and private events covered, or do I need event coverage?
Do my limits meet the Recreational Use Statute minimums of $500,000 per person, $1 million per occurrence and $100,000 property damage?
If I'm a workers' comp nonsubscriber, what covers my employees' injury claims?
Does the policy pay my defense costs on top of the limits, or do legal fees eat into them?

For a sister-state comparison, see how the same issues play out under North Carolina's law in Agritourism Insurance in North Carolina: 6 Costly Gaps and the Hard Lessons of Hurricane Helene.

The Texas Farm Protection Checklist: Do This Before Your Next Guest Arrives

You now know more about Texas agritourism liability than most farm owners ever will. Knowledge doesn't protect you, though. Action does. Work through this list one weekend at a time.

Signs and paperwork

☐ Chapter 75A sign, exact wording, at every entrance and at each activity area
☐ Chapter 87 farm animal sign, current wording, at every stable, corral, pen or arena guests can reach
☐ Chapter 75A release, separate page, 10-point bold, exact wording, signed before the activity
☐ A parent or guardian signature line for every minor
☐ Releases stored safely for years, scanned or digital (a child's claim can be filed long after the visit)

The "should have known" defense file

☐ A written inspection route covering wagons, railings, steps, play structures, ponds and parking
☐ A dated inspection log, filled in before opening every operating day
☐ A repair log showing what you found and when you fixed it
☐ Written notes on any animal with a known habit (biting, kicking, butting), and signs telling guests about it
☐ Hand-washing stations at every animal exit, following CDC guidance

Your people

☐ A written training checklist for every role that touches guests, signed and dated by each worker
☐ Tractor and wagon drivers checked out on the route, the speed and the loading procedure
☐ A decision, in writing with your agent, on workers' comp or nonsubscriber coverage

Your policies

☐ Every activity you offer is named on your policy or endorsement
☐ Liability limits of at least $500,000 per person, $1 million per occurrence and $100,000 property damage
☐ Hayride, liquor, product and event exposures confirmed in writing
☐ Certificates of insurance collected from vendors, food trucks, bounce-house renters and wedding caterers
☐ A policy review every year before your peak season, and any time you add an activity

When something goes wrong

☐ A first-aid kit and a person trained to use it on site every operating day
☐ An incident report form: who, what, when, where, witnesses, photos
☐ A rule: help the person, document everything, call your agent the same day, and never admit fault at the scene

Start small, start safe. If you're still testing whether visitors will even pay to come, you don't need a giant operation to begin. You need a small, well-documented one. My guide From Farm to Cash Flow: How to Test Agritourism With a 60-Minute MVP shows how to start with one simple, low-risk activity, which is also much easier to insure.

The Bottom Line for Texas Farm Owners

Red pickup truck loaded with pumpkins on a farm

Let's go back to that Saturday in October and the board that gave way.

On one farm, there's no sign, no release, no inspection log and a farm policy that never mentions hayrides. That owner is about to learn what a Texas jury thinks of a business that "should have known." The land that took three generations to pay off is now on the table.

On the other farm, the sign hangs at the gate. The parent signed a release in bold type before the ride. The inspection log shows the wagon was checked that morning. The policy names hayrides, carries $1 million per occurrence and pays for a defense lawyer on day one. That owner has a bad day, a hard phone call and a claim number. Then they open again next weekend.

Same accident. Same farm. Completely different ending. The only difference is what was done before the gates opened.

Texas gave you one of the best agritourism shields in America, and it's free. Use it. Then back it with insurance that's built for what you actually do. Neither one works nearly as well alone.

Your next step. Not sure your farm is ready for paying visitors at all? Take the free Farm Readiness Quiz. It shows where your farm is strong and where it needs work before you open the gate. Then browse 40 real farms and what they charge to see what's possible once your protection is in place.

Keep reading

P.S. If you do only one thing this week, make it this: pull out your current farm policy, find the word "agritourism" or "business activities," and check whether your activities are actually listed. If you can't find them, call your agent before your next guest arrives. That single phone call may be the most valuable thing you do for your farm all year.

Legal disclaimer: This article is general education, not legal or insurance advice. Laws change and every farm is different. Before relying on any statute or policy described here, consult a licensed Texas attorney and a licensed Texas insurance agent.

Sources

Photos: Unsplash. Charts: AgritourismSuccess.com, from the sources above.