Small Local Show????

I have played with the idea for several years of having a small local tractor show, a spring plow day and fall plow day/ Harvest day. It really would not take much ground. Lets say thirty acres. So even at high rental rates that would only be $15,000. So if you had three events a year that would be $5000 per event. So if you had 100 people show up then if everyone chipped in $50 you would have the ground covered.

Truthfully the ground cost would be much less than that as you really don't need or want top farm ground. The high yields of today makes the old harvesters not work well and 200 BPA corn stalks don't work well in old plows. So the actual cost could easily be half of the figures above.

The only issue I can't resolve is the liability. I have even thought about donating some ground for the use but I would need to cover myself from liability. I am not going to lose everything I have because some one runs some body over.

I have gotten quotes on a single weekend event insurance. The cost were staggering. A low of $10 to a high of $25K. So that kind of stops the idea dead in the water.

I even talked to my attorney about setting up a Corporation to own just one field to limit liability. He told me if I am directly involved in the ownership then I would still be in the hot seat.

So how would you have a event without the risk or cost????

I have been thinking harder about it the last year or so. I am less involved on the farm and even working in town some still leaves me at lose ends too much. I would not mind straw bossing an event.

I know my Grand Daughter's horse outings where a hit with their group and kind of fun to help with.

It seems like lawyers and government have taken much of the fun out of life anymore. It is sad to think your first thoughts, when you think of something like this, are of protecting yourself from major financial lose.

We used to have neighbor hood sled parties. I bet there would be 100 kids of all ages show up. A big bond fire and a steep hill to sled down. It would start mid afternoon and last to well after midnight. I would be terrified to try that these days. One hurt little Johnny and your in court sued up to your eye balls.

Isn't it great how things are these days!!! NOTTTTTTT LOL

I know what you mean. Years ago, my dad had a stagecoach and a team of Percherons. He wanted to take the rig to the local fair, and give kids rides for free, just so they could have the experience.

He pitched the idea to the fair, and they said, among other things, that he couldn't do it for free- had to charge a ticket price (which they would set) so he wasn't unfairly competing with the carnival rides. He also had to have a schedule when he would give the rides, and some other requirements, including a $1 million liability policy, which his insurance guy said would run several hundred dollars for the 5 days of the fair.

Needless to say, nobody got stage coach rides.

I have three different places, all within a 8 mile radius of my home place, I have cattle at all three places as well as buildings etc. a rider off of my home place insurance for 1 million at each of the other two was so cheap I couldn't believe it, around $230.00 per year, this is through State farm and they assured me that it covers anything we do there and any number of people involved, we work a lot of cattle for people and there is a good bit of traffic at that place and we store hay and bulk feed at the other place with trucks coming and going. I never asked about a tractor show but one guy I know in my area who has a roping arena pays about the same as I do and there can be several hundred people at a roping and bull riding with 3/4 of them drunk.

I have a party on the second weekend of July.
It is called B.Y.O.T ( bring your own tractor) and invite my neighbors and friends. The public is not invited. I don't worry about insurance as my homeowner's insurance would take care of any problems. That is what insurance if for. You may already have insurance, check it out.

The Club I am president of we used to have a three day show. We rented the county fairgrounds, $2500/day, plus the fair got all the money for camping. Our insurance was about 2500-3000 for the year. We had tractor pulls, combine demo derby, lawnmower demo derby, garden tractor pulls, flee market.

I think the rates they quoted you are way high

sparktrician

I have priced it several times at different agencies and companies. I tell them what I want to do and they quote the high prices.

I wonder if it is the fact your club is buying the insurance??? Would a club be except under some laws/rules????

I have always priced this as an individual.

I bought a rider for the Grand Daughters' trail ride last year and that cost just under $1000 for just that and it is limited to 30 people.

LAA I hope you all covered for your events. I know a local fellow here that has a Rodeo ring. He had club events there for a few years. Mainly the local groups practicing for rodeos else where. Three years ago he had a young fellow get throw off a bull into the fence. The guy was hurt pretty bad. It cost the owner BIG money for the cost of the accident. His insurance did not cover what they where doing. Even though it was not a public paying event. The last time I talked to him it was over $100K and still going on.

He has taken the entire ring down and does not allow any non family on his farm now. They had trail rides too as his farm is along a river but he quit them too.

Have you talked to a good lawyer about a disclaimer form that all participants would have to sign when they enter your event with parents signing for underage folks? Would it stand up in court?

"years ago he had a young fellow get throw off a bull into the fence. The guy was hurt pretty bad. It cost the owner BIG money"

And that is what's wrong with this country's laws.

I can fully understand how some people can stretch slipping at a store on a wet spot as the stores fault. The store should have foreseen the wet spot was a hazard and cleaned it up.

But if I am a bull rider I know full well it is not "IF" I will be hurt from being thrown but "WHEN" I will be hurt.
So if I do get hurt riding a bull ain't it my fault for getting on the bulls back in the first place.

I can remember 20 years ago when my son was about 10. He was riding a bike and most likely acting crazy when he lost control of the bike; ran into a telephone pole and broke his arm.
I never once thought of suing anyone but maybe I should have sued the electric company for putting that pole right in the way.

You don't hear about new clubs starting anymore. I would like to be involved in something but for a couple of the local groups I am an outsider by age and distance. Liability holds me back from doing anything on my own with events, too. I would love to do a harvest day in the fall but I feel it just is not going to happen at this point. Having pickers running is a whole different level of potential liability versus a plow day.

You have found why most places you go,tractor pulls,tractor rides etc., require you to join their club. Members have a hard time suing their own organization, so the insurance is a lot cheaper. So we all join JDS tractor club for a dollar a year.

Liability INS. is the main reason we gave up most of the public greenhouse sales. They wanted to charge us more for insurance then we made a year. They wanted close to 3-$4000 for the three months that we sold. If we had a real good year we had maybe $1000 profit after paying for everything else beside insurance.

Fence the acreage in, with only two or three entrances hang large signs all over: enter at own risk; Owner, Host, and participants not Liable for injuries or deaths on property...and so on. If something happens, someone will come and investigate and see the signs clearly posted, those hurt can't do anything about it.

Take a look at that big NASCAR wreck a few years back. The people in the stands that got hurt couldn't sue if they wanted to. It was written right on the ticket that NASCAR and associates could not be held responsible for injuries occurred at grounds/event.

I have been to this several times, maybe you could contact them and see how they manage it. Lots of fun. HTH

http://oldfarmday.org/

I also have wanted a little show where I live. Found that the insurance was terrible expensive unless there was a club involved. So I was going to start a club. Found that non profits are nearly impossible to get now. If I could get 20 members I could contact Early days gas and engine national club and if they would amalgamate us for $4. a person per yr. They would also give us coverage insurance. They just asked that you follow their rules. Not unreasonable rules. I tried but it didn't work. Another young man in shepherd Mi is trying it now with my info and it may work. There are a lot more pullers down there. I was more interested in back road rides and doing the mackinaw bridge crossing in the fall.

Have participants list you and your event, dates of needed coverage on their personal/farm liability policy as "additional insureds".this would only be for the specific days of your event. You would need a copy from each one.

Have you contacted EDGE&TA? Early Days Gas Engine and Tractor Association? Our club had insurance with them for many years. google EDGE&TA for their home page, etc.

You have many things to consider, I had several issues in Dubuque county a couple years ago, with parking, neighbors, signage, permits, zoning etc. Selling food adds even more grief. My insurance specified many things from how high the sides on the hayride wagons are to where signs needed to be placed where the animals were. And anytime the public is involved it amazed me what they could complain about. you cant sweat the small stuff. unfortunately liability is a huge issue this day.

How about partnering with an organization that already has coverage for a similar type of event. I have put on a tractor pull twice at a friend's vegetable farm. He has a few public invited events during the year that he already has coverage for. The pull takes place during one of these. A good friend has the transfer sled and part of why I put the pull on is to help him to be able to afford his insurance, as he collects the hook charges. So it is an event for the farmer, the public, the pullers, and the sled owner, and I just do the grunt work.