Farm Insurance: Protection For Hobby Farmers

A hobby farm is most often defined as a farm of fewer than 50 acres used primarily for pleasure instead of business (even though selling produce can be part of the process). In other words, this isn’t an industrial, agribusiness, or the primary breadwinning endeavor but instead a homestead or hobby farm. A side business, or for pleasure only pursuit. If you have this kind of set-up, you will likely produce some products that you sell locally, such as at a farmer’s market.

While you might not realize it, even as a hobby farmer you should consider looking at your homeowners' coverage and consider adding a farm insurance policy to your current policies to fill in the gaps where your standard insurance isn’t cutting it. Such coverage will protect your assets in ways that a standard home insurance policy simply cannot. You shouldn’t rely on your homeowners’ insurance policy alone for protection of your hobby farm or homestead. After all, it’s not set up to protect you in that way. Read on to learn more about small farm insurance coverage and why it might be advantageous for your situation:

Why Hobby Farm Insurance?

Hobby farm insurance, also sometimes called small farm insurance, is a type of farm insurance that is personalized to meet your homestead or hobby farm needs. Even if your hobby farm isn’t your main source of income, you want to ensure your assets are protected. Here’s why you might consider this coverage:

• It Provides Liability Coverage When Your Home Insurance Cannot: Small farm insurance will protect you by providing not only coverage for your property but liability coverage as well. It can also provide additional liability protection if necessary, based on your farming activities. This is the area in which you need to speak with your agent and personalize your policy. For example, if you rent out your farm as a venue, meaning there are frequent guests on your hobby farm, you might want to up your liability coverage. If you sell products made from or produce from your farm, you also need to think about additional liability coverage. However, if no one ever sets foot on your farm, you might not need as much liability protection. It’s all about what you use your farm for and how open you are to guests and visitors. 
  
  
• It Provides Protection For Your Valuable Farm Assets: A farm insurance policy is also a good idea because of the protection it can provide your valuable farm assets. As you know, farming equipment is anything but cheap and needs protection. After all, losing even one tractor or other similar pieces of machinery can set you back thousands of dollars. In addition, if you use one of your standard vehicles for your farm business, you could need additional auto insurance coverage added to your current policy. Keep in mind that many small farm insurance policies offer coverage for temporary loss of income as well. This can be invaluable if the loss of equipment and/or other assets means you can no longer produce products to sell. 

Bottom Line: Small Farm Insurance is a Good Idea for Hobby Farming

Whether you are growing and selling tomatoes, harvesting honey, hosting goat yoga classes or hosting weddings in your rustic barn, your hobby farm is more than just a hobby, and should be protected as such. Incidentally, the Midwest is the ideal place to own and run such a hobby farm. Contact our team of insurance experts today to find out more about the type of coverage we could offer you to ensure your hobby farm is well protected no matter what should occur.