L&A Family Farms Liability Waiver

L&A Family Farms Safety Rules

Welcome to our farm!  All of us at L&A Family Farms hope you have a great time while you are visiting.  We also want to make sure that you and your belongings stay safe during your visit.  This is a farm after all.  Just like any other farm, ours has equipment, machinery, farm animals, wildlife and many other things that could harm you or your belongings if we and you aren’t careful.  To help keep you and all our visitors safe, we have a few rules that we need our visitors to follow. 


1.     If you are an adult visitor and you brought a child (someone under the age of 18) with you on your visit, you are responsible for making sure that the child follows these rules and stays safe. Children must be accompanied by the adult who signs the liability release at all times while on the farm. If your child is visiting as a part of a field trip without you, your child must be accompanied by a chaperone at all times.

2.     We put signs up for a reason. Please read our signs and take our warnings seriously.  

3.     Please stay out of areas we have marked as unsafe for visitors. Just because the danger isn’t obvious doesn’t mean it isn’t real. You’ll just have to trust us on that. You don’t want to have to learn the hard way.

4.     Please stay out of our farm buildings and away from our personal residences.  The same goes for any tractor or other vehicle.

5.     Do not get on, touch, or climb on our farm implements or other equipment. The equipment may be hot and burn you or the moving parts may smash body parts or belongings. You could fall off equipment and hurt yourself or others. If it is safe for you to touch or get onto a piece of equipment, a staff member will tell you that it is okay. Even then, be careful.

6.     Please only park your vehicle in the designated parking areas.

7.     Please wear appropriate clothes and closed-toe shoes for a more enjoyable and safe visit to the farm.

8.     While visiting the animal areas, please, please, please, approach these areas slowly and quietly. Loud noises and sudden movements can spook animals. Spooked animals might act unpredictably and/or get out of their pens, which is dangerous for visitors and for the animals. The chickens are especially easy to spook, so please be extra calm around the chicken pens.

9.     DO NOT TOUCH OUR FENCES! All our fences are ELECTRIFIED, meaning that touching the fence will cause you to be shocked with electricity!  Electric fences help keep the animals in and predators out. Make sure to STAY BACK AT LEAST 10 FEET AWAY FROM ALL FENCES AND ANIMAL ENCLOSURES, unless a staff member tells you otherwise! The electricity to the fences is sometimes turned off during the day, but you should always assume that the electricity is on until a staff member tells you otherwise. PLEASE WARN YOUR CHILDREN TO NOT TOUCH THE FENCES!

10.  Do not get into the pens with the animals or reach into animal pens! Our animals are farm animals not pets, and our animals can be dangerous. Our farm is not a petting zoo. Even our cutest animals can hurt you and your belongings, sometimes without meaning to.

11.  Remember, this is an actual farm! Our trails and paths are not paved or weather proof.  Expect uneven ground and possibly sticks or other debris that you could trip over. Even when it has not rained recently, the ground can get wet and muddy from watering plants and animals, which can make the ground slippery and cause falls. Please, don’t run and please be careful while you are walking around the farm. Unfortunately, the outside has a way of making it inside our buildings, so be just as careful inside.

12.  Please stay on the trails and paths! Soil compaction happens when soil particles are pressed together so tightly that seeds cannot grow into health plants.  Soil compaction becomes a problem with repeat traffic over time, so please help us keep our plants and soil healthy by staying on the trails and paths.

13.  While strolling through the gardens, remember that the veggies are our income. Please do not walk on the plants or sample the good-looking food.

14.  Our farm consists of woodlands, grasslands, crop fields, and a creek. Wild animals and insects sometimes come onto the farm. If you see a wild animal, stay away from it or calmly walk away if it is already near you. You may also encounter poison ivy and other poisonous plants, so please take appropriate precautions.

15. For the safety of our own animals and our visitors, we do not allow pets on the premises unless they are a certified service animal for the visitor who brings them.

16.  If there is a thunderstorm, tornado, fire, or Mother Nature is causing some other type of commotion while you are on the farm, don’t panic. A staff member will tell you what to do. They’ve been trained for situations like this, so please trust them. If you don’t see a staff member nearby, return to the main office or ticket booth immediately.  

17.  If you ride our hay wagon, make sure to:

a.     Keep every part of yourself and all your belongings inside the wagon,

b.    Don’t board the wagon until a staff member tells you to,

c.     Stay seated until a staff member tells you that it is safe, even if the wagon is sitting still, and

d.    Follow any instructions a staff member gives you.   

18.  Even if you aren’t riding the wagon stay away from the wagon and the tractor pulling it! The driver may not be able to see you, so don’t assume that the driver knows that you are there. The same goes for any tractor or other vehicle, farm implement, equipment or machinery you see on the farm.

19.  If you experience a health emergency while you are on the farm or see another visitor who is, tell a staff member immediately and follow the staff member’s instructions.

20. While on the farm, follow the social distancing guidelines issued by the State of Illinois and local health officials, including but not limited to maintaining a six-foot distance between other visitors, wearing a mask, frequently washing hands, and not entering the farm if you are feeling ill. These guidelines are subject to change, so be aware of the most recent updates to prevent the spread of COVID-19/coronavirus.


This farm is our family business and our home. Please respect our work, privacy and rules so that we can continue to open our farm to you. We hope your visit to our farm is a fun and memorable experience. Our expectation is that you and your family get to encounter new things, experience nature, and see a more ecological and regenerative way of raising food. When you leave, we hope you have a better understanding of what goes on in the agriculture community.

 

Agreement to Release L&A Family Farms from Liability

I understand and agree that visiting L&A Family Farms involves certain known and unanticipated risks, including but not limited to, transportation accidents, personal or emotional injuries, exposure to COVID-19, death, paralysis or other disability, and loss or destruction of property. I understand and agree that L&A Family Farms and its staff members cannot be expected to eliminate all those risks even with the use of appropriate safety procedures and equipment without jeopardizing the essential qualities of the experience provided to me. With full knowledge of those risks and that I will be responsible for bearing the cost of any treatment or other damages I or those I sign on behalf of may incur as a result of the occurrence of those or other risks, I have chosen to visit and/or have allowed a child for whom I am responsible to visit L&A Family Farms and participate in its activities. I also understand that I am voluntarily releasing from liability, holding harmless and agreeing to indemnify L&A Family Farms for any injury to person or property that I or a child I am signing this document on behalf of sustain during the visit, even if that injury is a result of negligence by L&A Family Farms, its affiliates or a member of its staff. This release does not apply to claims arising from intentional conduct. I represent that I have adequate insurance to cover any injury I sustain during or resulting from my visit to L&A Family Farms. I further represent that I and those I sign this document on behalf of have no medical or physical condition which could interfere with my or their safety in participating in activities while visiting L&A Family Farms. If I do file a lawsuit on my own behalf or on behalf of a child visitor, I agree to do so solely in Edgar County, Illinois and that only Illinois substantive law will apply. I also agree that if any portion of this agreement is found to be void or unenforceable, the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect.


By signing this document, I agree that if I am hurt or my property is damaged during my visit or while participating in any activity, then I may be found by a court of law to have waived my right to maintain a lawsuit against the parties being released on the basis of any claim for negligence.


I have had sufficient time to read this entire document, and I may elect to consult with legal counsel prior to signing. I also understand and agree that I am releasing from liability, holding harmless and agreeing to indemnify L&A Family Farms as a part of my consideration for the ability to participate in activities during my visit, and that because the cost of my participation would be significantly greater if I were to choose not to enter into this agreement, this bargain is reasonable. I have read and understand this document and I agree to be bound by its terms.

Who will be participating?

Adult  Adult and Children  Children

Signee Information



By clicking 'I Agree' below, you agree that you have read and agree with the terms of the waiver and that the information you provided is accurate. You furthermore agree that your submission of this form, via the 'I Agree' button, shall constitute the execution of this document in exactly the same manner as if you had signed, by hand, a paper version of this agreement.