Agritourism Safety in Virginia

Safety is a concern for agritourism venues because an operating farm may expose visitors to many unfamiliar conditions, situations, and/or animals, which opens the farm operation to potential liability risks during these interactions. The purpose of this research was to review current safety protocols on Virginia agritourism operations and seek information that was needed to improve for the future. Based on a survey sent to Virginia operators, numerous areas were identified which would benefit from further education and risk management information. Insurance offerings tailored to agritourism operations are needed, in addition to improved employee screening and training for operations management. The survey found that 25.24% of responses do not do any type of pre-employment screening while over 7% do not participate in walkthroughs before events. The purpose of this research was to document specific protocols already in place, identify, and describe critical areas of improvement for Virginia agritourism event, venue, and visitor safety practices.