By DOMINIC CAROLLO

For the Capital Press

Many farmers and ranchers are opening their property to the public to generate income through direct sales, U-pick produce, farm tours or fee hunting or fishing.

While opening your property to the public can have a significant upside, it is a choice that comes with added risks.

With the current interest for locally grown food, some farmers have elected to open produce stands or allow the public to pick produce directly from their fields. Other producers recognize the growing urban-rural divide and offer tours of their operations to the public, often with opportunities to make direct sales to the consumer. These can all be great ways to enter niche markets and solidify consumer support for your business or industry, but they come with added risk for liability.

The law recognizes persons coming onto your property for business purposes as business invitees. A landowner owes invitees a general duty to "make safe." This means you must protect them from "unreasonable risks of harm," including dangerous or defective conditions found on your property. In other words, if someone steps in a hole or is injured by an animal or piece of equipment, you could be liable for their injury.

The same goes for providing recreational opportunities to the public. Many landowners are aware that when they allow use of their land to the public for recreational purposes such as fishing or hunting, some states' statutes specifically protect them from liability for personal injury or property damage.

What some landowners do not realize is that once you charge a fee for recreational use, this protection usually goes away. In many cases, you will owe that person the duty of care owed a business invitee.

There are measures you can take to mitigate these potential liabilities. The most obvious is insurance. A farmer opening his property up to the public for the first time most likely does not have insurance for liability from business conducted with consumers on his property. You need insurance that covers you specifically for that side of your operations. Your insurance broker should be able to advise you on the policy you need.

Another important measure is to clearly delineate the portions of your land open to the public from those which are not. Fortunately, clear signage and fences designating which portions of your property are closed to public use can allow you to limit the scope of potential liability.

When a person fails to comply with your designated boundaries, they have exceeded their "invitee status," making them, in most cases, a trespasser whom you owe a lesser duty of care.

When practical, contractual releases can be another way to protect yourself. A good contract should be tailored to the specific activities being conducted on your land.

These are only some of the generally applicable rules to public entry on private land. The specific circumstances ultimately dictate best practices for safety and limiting legal liability. However, landowners thinking about opening their land to the public should be mindful and plan on-site business operations carefully.

Dominic Carollo is an associate attorney at the Portland law firm, Dunn Carney Allen Higgins and Tongue, LLP, and is a member of the firm's Agriculture and Natural Resources Legal Team.