Product liability claims can occur as a result of consumption of unsafe meat or injuries resulting from the use of other farm products deemed unsafe. To minimize these risks, direct marketers need to observe and eliminate possible hazards from the farm, provide training to employees, notify customers about potential risks, notify customers about rules of conduct such as in on-farm craft shops, and market only safe, unadulterated products, especially in the case of the lamb. Actions such as these constitute the reasonable and prudent actions expected of the direct marketer by the law and provide the best defense. Farm insurance policies should be examined carefully to determine the coverage available for the direct marketing enterprise. Policies with definitions of farming should be checked to see if they cover direct marketing operations.
Many policies exclude certain direct marketing activities from normal farm operations.
Policies not defining farming probably do not cover direct marketing operations. In cases where direct marketing activities are excluded from coverage under current farm policies, producers should buy liability insurance to cover the expanded direct marketing operation and product liability.