Insurance and Liability
Educator: Rachel Armstrong JD, Farm Commons
Insurance is a key risk management strategy for any business. From providing an attorney to defend the operation to paying out if the case is lost, insurance is available to protect the business from a wide variety of damage and injury scenarios. Yet, finding the right policy isn’t always easy. Determining what is and is not covered by an insurance policy can be challenging, especially for unique farm and value-added businesses. This webinar will help break down those barriers. We will discuss common insurance policies and what they mean for a variety of business types. Get concrete information about what questions to ask an insurance representative and how to act on the response received. (This course is geared towards both farm and non-farm businesses)
Rachel Armstrong
As the founder and Executive Director of Farm Commons, Ms. Armstrong took the organization from an idea to a nationwide leader in farm law education. At the organization’s helm, she has led dozens of webinars and workshops for thousands of farmers and created the organization’s innovative approach to farm law risk reduction. She has authored dozens of publications on farm law matters for farmers, alongside several academic and trade publications. Ms. Armstrong instructs continuing legal education classes for the American Bar Association and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A graduate of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the University of Wisconsin Madison, she lives in Northern Minnesota with her husband, mother, 3-year-old son, and twin toddlers.
Farm Commons is a charitable nonprofit organization, founded in 2012 with the mission of providing farmers with the proactive legal resources they need to become the stable, resilient foundation of a community based food system. Farm Commons has written and distributes over 150 print, audio, and video resources that explain farm law in plain, actionable language. Farm Commons also hosts workshops on farm law nationwide, using the organization’s proven method of training farmers themselves to co-present the workshop to peers. The organization’s approach is incredibly successful:70% of farmers make a risk-reducing change to their business within 3 months. After using Farm Commons’ resources, farmers feel more empowered and recognize their own abilities to manage legal risk. Whether leasing land, forming a partnership, arranging a sales contract, or hiring an employee for the first time, Farm Commons is there to help farmers make the law work for them.
