Civil suits a growing trend for agricultural producers

Photo credit: Chris Bennett, Farm Journal Technology and Issues Editor, as reported by AgWeb.com.

Photo credit: Chris Bennett, Farm Journal Technology and Issues Editor, as reported by AgWeb.com.

Agriculture is no longer immune to sweeping civil lawsuits, reports AgWeb.com, a site by Farm Journal Media.

”Mirroring the U.S. mainstream, agriculture has entered an era of litigation and legal wrangling,” AgWeb.com reports. “Lawsuits against farmers once were a rarity. Yet, today’s producer is often popularly perceived as a wealthy, land-rich businessman with substantial assets.”

In the past, farmers were shielded by attitudes of respect and neighborly goodwill, the article explains. Today, however, civil suits can stem from agriculture’s use of chemicals, all-terrain vehicle accidents, hunting injuries, equipment mishaps and many other areas of risk, the article notes.

Bill Field, a professor of agricultural health and safety at Purdue University, told AgWeb.com, “Farmers often don’t recognize that society has changed rapidly. Some of these settlements climb into the millions.”