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  • From: Kakerby <kakerby AT aol.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] losing insurance coverage????
  • Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2013 21:33:32 -0500 (EST)

Oh, Richard, this is not good to hear, but I can't claim it's a surprise.  I have attended a few GAP sessions and saw how they were trying to separate animal production from plant production.  I guess I can extrapolate from there how they'd want to separate out the physical home from both.  We had tentatively decided that we were selling on such a small scale, without a farm stand and without selling to or through entities which would require GAP certification, that we would not need to get compliant with that program.  I guess in hindsight, that notion was probably naive.  And now If it's going to affect our insurance, I'll have to re-think attending those meetings and not only getting certified but getting certified earlier as opposed to later.  

Two specific questions for you:
1) our ideal farm plan, which we've been working towards based on our initial GAP attendance (our just-in-case strategy), would create a series of aisles or roadways between various working areas of the farm, ie between garden areas, livestock areas, compost areas.  Would a 12' road serve as a sufficient buffer between areas for GAP purposes, assuming we are familiar with the related topics of not moving between animal and veggie areas without decontamination measures?  If such a buffer is not sufficient, what would be? 

2) I know none of us have a crystal ball for regulatory impact, but it sounds like you have some specific concerns about how else GAP will impact day to day farm ops, in addition to the insurance.  If you care to list those specific concerns, I suspect that would be a lively, relevant thread for the entire market growers list.  This insurance thing certainly blindsided us, and I for one would appreciate some heads-up knowledge of what else might be coming down the pike.

I appreciate your warnings, and your advice.  We have some big questions to ponder.
Kathryn Kerby
frogchorusfarm.com
Snohomish, WA


-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Stewart <rstewart AT zoomtown.com>
To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tue, Feb 19, 2013 5:57 pm
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] losing insurance coverage????

My suggestion is that if you intend to continue doing your business is to attempt to separate things in a very clear fashion.  I've been attending a fair amount of GAP courses and Federal Food Safety groups and its going to get ugly.  You need to make sure your home is your home and your farm is the business.  It needs to be separate both in physical terms as well as economical terms.

These next four to five years are going to be REALLY tough on all of us.  Insurance is simply one of several issues we are all going to have to deal with or be regulated to sell on the farm at a stand.

Richard Stewart
Carriage House Farm
North Bend, Ohio

An Ohio Century Farm Est. 1855

(513) 967-1106
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