Fall Farm Season Is Here: What Georgia's Agritourism Liability Law Actually Covers

Corn mazes, pumpkin patches, hayrides, and petting zoos are opening across Forsyth County as the weather turns, and families across metro Atlanta will spend the next two months making weekend trips to local farms. Most of those visits end with nothing worse than a muddy pair of shoes. But farm attractions carry real, physical risks — uneven ground, farm equipment, animals, hayride wagons — and Georgia has a specific law on the books that shapes who pays when a visitor gets hurt. It’s called the agritourism liability statute, and it’s more limited than a lot of visitors, and even some farm operators, assume.

Fall Farm Visits Are a Bigger Business Than You’d Think

Agritourism isn’t a niche activity anymore. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, farms and ranches nationwide generated $1.26 billion in agritourism income in 2022 — up more than 12% from 2017 even after adjusting for inflation — as more operations add corn mazes, pumpkin patches, and farm tours to diversify their income. Fall is the peak of that season nationwide, and Georgia’s farms, including several around Forsyth County and the North Georgia foothills, are part of that trend. More visitors means more exposure to the ordinary hazards of a working farm: holes and ruts in a field, loose gravel, ladders, fencing, and machinery that isn’t designed with a paying public in mind.

What Georgia’s Agritourism Law Actually Immunizes

Georgia lawmakers passed a specific liability shield for agritourism operators, codified at O.C.G.A. § 51-3-31. It protects a landowner who charges admission for an agritourism activity from civil liability for injuries caused by the inherent risks of that activity — the kind of risk that comes with the activity itself and can’t be eliminated by ordinary care, like uneven natural terrain in a corn maze or the unpredictable behavior of a farm animal.

That protection comes with real conditions, not a blank check:

The immunity only applies to adults. By its own terms, the statute covers injury to “a participant at least 18 years of age.” Children aren’t covered by this specific shield the same way adults are.
A warning sign is required. The law requires a posted notice, in specific statutory language, at the property’s main point of entry, warning that Georgia law limits liability for inherent risks.
It doesn’t cover negligence. The immunity does not apply if the injury results from the landowner’s gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct — think a rotted hayride platform, a known broken step nobody fixed, or unsecured farm equipment left where visitors walk.

The National Agricultural Law Center has published a helpful summary of how Georgia’s version of this statute compares to other states’ — it’s narrower than some, since it applies only to paying adult participants and requires both a posted warning and a signed waiver to trigger the immunity.

The Gap Parents Should Understand

Because the statutory immunity is written for adults 18 and older, an injury to a child at a farm attraction is generally evaluated under Georgia’s ordinary premises liability rules instead — not the agritourism carve-out. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1, a landowner who invites the public onto their property for a lawful purpose owes a duty of ordinary care to keep the premises and approaches reasonably safe. A waiver signed at the gate doesn’t erase that duty when the injured visitor is a minor, and Georgia courts have long recognized that children don’t appreciate hazards the way adults do — which is part of why farms marketing themselves to families need to think carefully about what’s within reach of a curious eight-year-old, from open equipment to unsecured ladders near a hay pile.

Animal Contact Is a Real, Documented Risk Too

Petting zoos and animal-contact areas are a staple of fall farm visits, and they come with a hazard that has nothing to do with slips or falls: illness. The CDC has tracked outbreaks of E. coli, Salmonella, and Cryptosporidium linked to animals at fairs, petting zoos, and farms for years, and its guidance for animal exhibitors recommends accessible handwashing stations at exhibit exits as a baseline precaution. A 2016 CDC report tracking state laws on hand-sanitation stations at animal exhibits noted roughly 100 documented outbreaks tied to public animal contact between 2010 and 2015. It’s a real reason to have kids wash up before snack time after the petting zoo — and, if a venue has no handwashing facilities at all near its animal exhibit, a fact that can matter if a family later gets sick.

What This Means If Something Goes Wrong

Not every farm injury is somebody’s fault, and Georgia’s agritourism law is written specifically to acknowledge that some risk is simply part of the activity. But “inherent risk” has limits. A twisted ankle from uneven ground in a corn maze is very different from a fall through a rotted hayride platform, an injury from farm machinery left accessible to visitors, or a child hurt because a fenced area with animals or equipment wasn’t actually secured. If you or your child was hurt at a farm attraction and you’re not sure which side of that line your situation falls on, it’s worth having someone who knows Georgia’s premises liability and agritourism law actually look at it — and keep in mind that Georgia generally gives injury victims two years from the date of injury to file a claim, so there’s no need to decide anything on the spot.

Free Consultation — We’re Here When You Need Us

If you or a family member was hurt at a corn maze, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, or any other farm or festival attraction this fall, Swain Injury Law can help you figure out whether Georgia’s agritourism shield actually applies to your situation — or whether ordinary negligence rules do. Led by attorney Diana Swain, a former Fulton County prosecutor, our firm works on contingency — no fee unless we win your case — and if we happen to miss your call, we promise a callback within 10 minutes during business hours for injury inquiries. We serve clients in English, Russian, and Ukrainian. Learn more on our Cumming personal injury lawyer page, call 470-213-5095, reach us anytime through our contact page, or review common questions on our FAQ.

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This article is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different — talk to a lawyer about yours.