Short answer: Usually only in part. A farm policy is built to cover your farming. Work you do for other people, or a business that brings customers onto your place, is often left out or only covered up to a small limit. If your side business has steady customers, employees or its own truck, it likely needs its own coverage too.
Is a side business on the farm common?
Very. USDA found that 96 percent of farm households had some off-farm income in 2019. A lot of it comes from work done right on the farm: custom harvesting for a neighbor, plowing snow, hauling, a farm stand or a welding shop in the machine shed. The trouble starts when everyone assumes the farm policy covers all of it.
Why doesn't my farm policy cover it?
Your farm policy is written for the risks of running your own operation: your buildings, your equipment, your livestock and the liability that comes with farming. When you do work for hire or open your gate to paying customers, you take on a different kind of risk, and insurance companies treat it differently.
Some farm policies include a little coverage for side work but cap it at a low amount of income. Others leave it out unless you add it. Your own policy is the only way to know.
Which side businesses usually need more coverage?
| Side business | How a farm policy often treats it | What usually fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Custom planting, harvesting or spraying for neighbors | Left out or capped | An endorsement on your farm policy |
| Snowplowing or landscaping | Treated as non-farm work | Commercial liability, plus commercial auto for the truck |
| Hauling grain or goods for others | Often outside the farm policy | Commercial auto and cargo coverage |
| Farm stand or farmers market sales | Sometimes covered, sometimes not | Product liability, if it isn't included |
| Corn maze, pumpkin patch or weddings | Usually left out | An agritourism endorsement or commercial policy |
| Shop work, like welding or repairs for others | A separate business | Commercial liability and coverage for customers' equipment |
Should I add an endorsement or buy a separate policy?
If the side work is small, seasonal and close to farming, like custom combining for a couple of neighbors, an endorsement on your farm policy is usually the simplest answer.
A separate commercial policy usually makes more sense when:
- the business has its own name or LLC,
- it has employees who don't do farm work,
- you use a truck mainly for the business, or
- customers ask you for a certificate of insurance.
If you're getting asked for certificates, here's what to do when someone asks for a certificate of insurance. Our business insurance page covers the commercial side.
What if people pay to visit my farm?
Wisconsin law gives farms some protection when visitors get hurt at an agritourism activity like a corn maze or farm tour. But that protection drops away once you've taken in more than $2,000 in a year for people to use the property, and money from selling products doesn't count toward that. A paid corn maze can pass that quickly, and a law won't pay for a lawyer if you're sued. If you charge admission, make sure the activity is on a policy.
Do my side-business workers change my workers' comp?
They can. In Wisconsin, a farm needs workers' comp once it has 6 or more employees on the same day for 20 days in a year. Most other businesses need it much sooner: with 3 employees, or 1 employee paid $500 or more in a quarter. If your side business has its own help, don't assume the farm rule covers them. Illinois and Iowa have their own farm rules, and workers in a non-farm business may not fall under them either.
What a farm policy usually won't do for your side business
- cover custom work, hauling or plowing for others past the policy's limit
- cover products you sell to the public unless that's included
- cover paying visitors unless the activity is added
- cover a truck used mainly for the business
- give your customers the certificates they ask for
What should I ask my agent?
- Which of my side jobs does my farm policy cover, and up to what limit?
- Is an endorsement or a separate policy the better fit?
- Are my side-business workers and vehicles covered?
Our farm insurance team works with farm families across Wisconsin, northern Illinois and eastern Iowa. If you farm and run something on the side, we'll look at both together so nothing falls through the cracks. For the farm side, see what a farm policy actually covers.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- USDA Economic Research Service, Off-Farm Income a Major Component of Total Income for Most Farm Households in 2019
- Wisconsin Statutes § 895.52, Recreational activities; limitation of property owners' liability
- Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Worker's Compensation Employer Resources
This article is general information, not a coverage determination. What your policy covers depends on its actual wording and your carrier's forms.
Farm and a side business under one roof? We'll review both and show you where the gaps are. Request a quote →