Opinion ID: 1255634
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: standlee's business activities were those ordinarily done by farmers.

Text: The Commission found that Standlee was an alfalfa farmer and that his business activities were those ordinarily done by farmers, except perhaps on a larger scale. Specifically, his business was comprised of the harvesting, baling, transporting, weighing, storage and sale of alfalfa. All of these steps, the Commission found, were taken and necessary to the completion of a finished farm product. See Reedy v. Trummell, 90 Idaho at 320, 410 P.2d at 656. The record indicates that the majority of the work involved in alfalfa production is the harvesting, not watering or fertilizing the crop. Therefore, it appears that the work performed by alfalfa producers in general is exactly the work performed by Standlee and is an activity normally done by farmers. Riggs claims that Standlee's business was one of custom harvesting or some other form of farming that does not fit within the characterization of work ordinarily done by farmers. This Court addressed the issue of custom services provided to farmers in Dwigans v. Olander, 98 Idaho 744, 572 P.2d 178 (1977). In Dwigans, the employer conducted a business called Custom Manure Spreading. The employer cleaned manure out of feedlots and corrals and spread it on farmlands for numerous farmers in southern Idaho. The employer contracted to load and haul the manure at a specified price per truck load and distribute the manure on the farmer's land in accordance with the farmer's instructions. We held that the employer was not a farmer, but rather a businessman providing a limited, specific service to farmers on a contract basis, and that [i]t would be incorrect to say that [the employer's] business constituted the `raising and harvesting' of agricultural products. Dwigans, 98 Idaho at 745, 572 P.2d at 179. With respect to the present case, the record clearly indicates that Standlee was not a custom harvesting operation. There was testimony that Standlee owned several hay sheds worth $400,000-$500,000; that Standlee also owned trucks, and hay loaders to load hay in the winter; that this machinery is typically owned by farmers, not custom harvesters; and that custom harvesters have no need for this equipment, since their job is done once the hay is in the stack. Thus, we hold that Standlee was not in the business of providing a limited, specific service to farmers on a contract basis, at a specified price, and in accordance with the farmer's specific instructions. Rather, Standlee purchased the alfalfa standing in the field. Standlee was involved with the landowners before the seeds were planted. He provided the seed, and eventually a seeder, to ensure proper quality of the alfalfa, and monitored the growth of the alfalfa and determined the appropriate time to turn off the water and begin harvesting. Once Standlee swathed, baled, and stacked the alfalfa, it hauled the alfalfa to its own storage facilities and sold the alfalfa as its own.