Yes, you read it right: our roundup of agricultural law questions includes a question on popcorn–not one we often hear.  Below is our answer to it and several other legal questions we’ve recently received in the Farm Office.

A farm lease landlord didn’t notify a tenant of the intent to terminate a verbal farm lease before the new September 1 deadline.  What are the consequences if the landlord now tries to enter into a new lease agreement with another tenant operator?

Ohio’s new “statutory termination law” requires a landlord to provide written notice of termination of a verbal farmland lease by September 1 of the year the lease is effective.  The law is designed to prevent a tenant from losing land late in the leasing cycle, after the tenant has made commitments and investment in the land.  The new law now establishes September 1 as the deadline for a valid termination, unless a lease provides otherwise.  If a landowner terminates after September 1, the consequences are that a tenant could either try to force continuation of the lease for another lease period or seek damages for the late termination. Those damages could include reimbursement for work already completed, such as fall tillage, nutrient applications, and cover crops; reimbursement for input costs such as seed and fertilizer that tenant cannot use or return; and lost profits from the tenant’s loss of the crop. Find our law bulletin on the new statutory termination date for farm leases on the Farm Office website.

A farmer plans to build a barn and grain bins close to the property line of a neighbor.  Does the neighbor have a legal right to stop the farmer from building so close to the boundary?

No, probably not. Because the neighbor lives in a rural area, Ohio’s “agricultural exemption” from local zoning regulations applies to the situation.  The agricultural exemption law states that except in limited circumstances, agricultural land uses and structures used for agriculture, like barns, are not subject to township or county zoning regulations and building permit requirements.  If this township has building setback requirements in its zoning resolution, for instance, the farmer is not subject to the regulations and can build the barn closer to the property line than the setback provisions require and farmer is not required to obtain a zoning or building permit for the barn.  One exception is that if the farmer’s land is less than five acres and is one of at least 15 lots that are next to or across from one another, the agricultural exemption would not apply to the farmer’s land.   Find the agricultural exemption from zoning in Ohio Revised Code 519.21.

In replacing a line fence, a landowner entered a neighbor’s property and cleared 10 feet from the fence of all brush and trees, even though the neighbor warned the landowner not to do so.  Did the landowner have a right to cut and remove the neighbor’s trees and vegetation?

No.  Ohio law in Ohio Revised Code 971.08 does allow a person to enter up to 10 feet of an adjacent neighbor’s property for the purpose of building or maintaining a line fence, but it is only a right of entry for the purpose of working on the fence.  It allows a person to access the neighbor’s property without fear of legal action for trespass.  But the law does not allow a person to remove trees or vegetation within the 15 foot area. In fact, the law specifically states that a person will be liable for any damages caused by the entry onto the neighbor’s property, including damages to crops.  Additionally, since the neighbor stated that the trees should not be removed and the landowner removed them anyway, the landowner could be subject to another Ohio law for “reckless destruction” of trees and vegetation.  That law could make the landowner liable for three times the value of the trees that were removed against the neighbor’s wishes. Find the reckless destruction of vegetation law in Ohio Revised Code 901.51.

Would a milk contamination provision in an insurance policy address milk that could be contaminated as a result of the East Palestine train derailment?

Probably not.  Milk contamination coverage provisions in a dairy’s insurance policies typically only apply to two situations: unintentional milk contamination by the dairy operator and intentional contamination by a party other than the dairy operator. Contamination resulting from an unintentional pollution incident by a party other than the dairy operator would not fit into either of these situations.  But insurance policies vary, so confirming a farm’s actual policy provisions is important when determining insurance coverage.

A grower of popcorn wants to process, bag, and ship popcorn.  Does the grower need any type of food license?

No.  Popcorn falls under Ohio’s “cottage food law.”  Popcorn is on the list of “cottage foods” identified by the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) as having lower food safety risk than “potentially hazardous foods.”  A producer can process and sell a cottage food without obtaining a food license from the ODA or the local health department.  However, the producer may only sell the food within Ohio and must properly label the food.  Labeling requirements include:

• Name of the food product
• Name and address of the business of the cottage food production operation
• Ingredients of the food product, in descending order of predominance by weight
• Net weight and volume of the food product
• The following statement in ten-point type: “This product is home produced.”

Read our law bulletin on Ohio’s Cottage Food Law on the Farm Office website.

It’s the time of year when farmers are cleaning up fence rows and boundary lines to prepare fields for planting season.  Tree law questions pop up a lot during this time.  Here are answers to the most commonly asked questions we receive about trees along boundary lines in Ohio’s rural areas.  Note that there can be different laws addressing trees within a city or village.

Who owns a tree that’s on the property line?

When a tree is on the boundary line between two properties, both neighbors have ownership interests in the tree.  However, if only the branches or roots of a tree extend past the property line and into a neighbor’s property, the branches and roots do not give that neighbor an ownership interest in the tree.

Can I cut down a tree on the boundary line?

No, not if your neighbor doesn’t agree to the removal.  Because both you and your neighbor jointly own the tree, you must both agree to cutting down the tree.  If you remove the tree without the neighbor’s approval, you could be liable to the neighbor or the neighbor’s share of the value of the tree, or for three times the value of the tree if you behaved “recklessly,” explained further on.

Can I trim the branches of the neighbor’s tree that hang over my property?

Yes, even if the tree isn’t on the boundary line and you don’t have an ownership interest in it, you still have the legal right to trim branches that hang over your property. However, you must take “reasonable care” in trimming the branches.  Failing to act with reasonable care and causing harm such as disease or death of the tree could result in liability.

How does the law determine liability for harming or cutting down a tree?

Ohio Revised Code 901.51 addresses injury to vines, bushes, trees, or crops on land of another, referred to as the “reckless destruction of vegetation law.”  The law states that a person shall not “recklessly cut down, destroy, girdle, or otherwise injure a vine, bush, shrub, sapling, tree, or crop standing or growing on the land of another or upon public land.”  The word “recklessly” means the action occurred with complete disregard to the rights of the landowner.  Violations of the reckless destruction law can result in criminal misdemeanor charges or a civil negligence lawsuit by the tree owner.  The law provides potential punitive “treble damages” that make the violator liable for three times the value of the damaged tree, crop, or vegetation.

If my neighbor’s tree falls onto my property, is the neighbor liable for the damage?

Possibly, if the neighbor had knowledge that the tree was diseased, weak, or “patently dangerous.”  If the tree was not in a weakened or damaged condition or the neighbor had no knowledge of its condition, the law would not likely create liability for the damage. You’d have to take action against the neighbor to establish liability, however.  If there is harm to a structure, your insurance provider might be involved and take the lead on establishing responsibility under the neighbor’s insurance coverage.   Even so, there is no law that creates an affirmative duty for the neighbor to clean up the tree.  Landowners are expected to use the remedy of “self-help,” i.e., to clean up natural and ordinary tree debris on their property, even if from a neighbor’s tree.  Likewise, the neighbor is expected to clean up debris from your trees that fall onto the neighbor’s property.

Can I keep the timber or firewood from the neighbor’s tree or a boundary tree that fell on my property?

Ohio law doesn’t address this issue.  The “self-help” remedy for tree debris that falls on the property suggests that you are responsible for removing the debris, which could logically allow you to do as you wish with the debris.  But if the tree is valuable or was a jointly owned boundary tree—might the neighbor have rights to the tree or its value?  Because Ohio law doesn’t clearly answer this question, it’s wise to talk with the neighbor and provide a reasonable amount of time for the neighbor to claim ownership and remove their share of the tree.  Document the notice given to the neighbor as well as the timber or firewood resulting from the tree in case the neighbor fails to respond until after tree removal and claims an ownership interest at that time.