# Basic Legal Agreement for Bees/Pollination



## JPK (May 24, 2008)

Basic Legal Agreement for Bees/Pollination

Does anyone have a basic template agreement/contract they are willing to share that is basically a CYA for placing bees on a small farm?

Long story short, I have a small local organic farm that has asked me if I would be interested in placing a couple of hives on their property.

It would be a permanent placement so I would not need to move them and there is no requirement for number of bees/sq foot for pollination so this is really just a CYA Effort to outline that the bees, equipment, products are my property, that I won't be held liable if someone is stung, advance notification should they decide to spray some sort of controls for pests etc etc.

Tx in advance!


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## alpha6 (May 12, 2008)

If its an organic farm I doubt you need to worry about spraying. 

Also, no case has ever been won where someone claimed that someones bee stung them. It can't be proved.

I work solely off a handshake and no formal contract so I can't help you in that regard.

Good luck.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

If it is an organic farm, are they requiring you to use organic beekeeping methods? If not, would they still be an organic farm?


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

alpha6 said:


> Also, no case has ever been won where someone claimed that someones bee stung them. It can't be proved.


your not from the east coast, called attractive nuisance by lawyers.
like parking a tractor in the middle of your field but people can see it.

the climb on, fall off, break a leg and sue . probably will win.
thats why I carry liability insurance. And I'm not a lawyer but if a kid sees your hive, finds it interesting, pushes on it, gets stung, agreement or not, whomever has the deepest pockets will get sued. Thats one of the few advantages of living in N.Y. all land is posted so mayby you win, I keep all my hives on farm land, far enough away and out of sight, hopefully I'll never have to use my insurance. Its bad enough out here that burgulars climb up on your house to break in, fall of the roof, and sue and win, not a healthy climate.

mike now Ive even depressed myself, going back out and get stung it feels better.


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## JPK (May 24, 2008)

Yes, we live in an overly litigatious society which is why I am carrying additional ins.

I'm sorta surprised with the wealth of experience here that no one has run accross this before and has suggestions on language.

I would LOVE to work off a handshake but thats unfortunately not always enough these days.

There are people that you know and trust implicitly and then there's everyone else.....if you only did business with the former....you wouldn't do much business.


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

Man if you need a legal agreement to set out a few beehives on an organic farm, that's gettn bad. Why worry? JPK have you been burned in the past? 
Paranoia does strike deep and takes away a lot of joy!


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## Bud Dingler (Feb 8, 2008)

*i doubt it,*

unless you rent or sell them bees thereby transferring the risk I see no way to CYA. 

Even if you rent or sell them bees if you are maintaining the bees I don't see how you can have zero risk. 

They would be foolish to sign a document absolving you of any future blame, but giving you access to their property and then having no control over your actions either. I think you're dreaming if you think you can run a business and transfer all of your risk to someone else.


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

*Buds' advice*

good as usual. For all my talk I have big liability covg.


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## JPK (May 24, 2008)

So, are all of you commercial beeks telling me that you do all of your business on a handshake?

I'm having a hard time believing that to be the case.


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

one of the bee magazines had an article at some ? time in the past that gave the format and wording of an agreement, a search might find it, or looking through back issues.

mike

this one doesn't give a contract but alot of the pros and cons.

http://www.beeculture.com/storycms/index.cfm?cat=Story&recordID=66

this on gives a pollination contract don't know how good

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~reute001/htm-files/pollination agreem.html


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

JPK, we have over 50 bee yards with average 40 colonies each and don't have a single contract, nor have we for over 30 years. We DO have 1 mil liability insurance, which we have never (knock on wood) ever had to use.
I think presenting a contract trying to transfer all liability to them would just raise red flags and IMO is not necessary. If someone is going to sue you a contract will not keep you out of court.
We talk to our landowners about pesticide use (farmers generally _know_ pesticides kill insects ) and give them our phone number to be available for questions or concerns, but to date, the sole cause of calls is to report the inevitable swarms or to find out when the yard rent honey will be available or to order more.
Sheri


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## JPK (May 24, 2008)

J and S, tx for the feedback, I had previously arranged for ins consistent with what you mentioned.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

JPK1NH said:


> I would LOVE to work off a handshake but thats unfortunately not always enough these days.
> 
> There are people that you know and trust implicitly and then there's everyone else.....if you only did business with the former....you wouldn't do much business.


On the other hand, if you have such distrust about these folks, maybe you shouldn't put your bees on their property.

Sorry, I've never seen such an agreement. Maybe if you established the yard and then registered it w/ the state and had an apiary inspector out to look at your colonies, that would establish some legal recognition of ownership, perhaps.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

JPK1NH said:


> So, are all of you commercial beeks telling me that you do all of your business on a handshake?
> 
> I'm having a hard time believing that to be the case.


Yup. 

And I can believe that it's hard to believe. 

But I have no apiary agreements w/ any of my landowners and don't know any beekeepers in NY that do. I have no pollination contract agreements either. I make sure that they need bees this season, they call me when it's time to take them in and call me when it's time to take them out. In the one orchard, if any of the hives aren't acting like they should, the orchard manager, who is also a beekeeper, checks the hive to see why. He tags the ones that are queenless or under productive and we adjust the price accordingly. Though I usually take them more hives than they ask for.


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

>>So, are all of you commercial beeks telling me that you do all of your business on a handshake?

Same here.


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

I guess I should add that I did have some trouble with a couple of sleazebucket wannabee almond brokers along time ago.I DID get my money(eventually).


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## JPK (May 24, 2008)

Tx for the comments folks.

One of my bee yards is a handshake/no doubts situation.

The other is more of a situation where I would prefer to set expectations and keep honest people honest if you know what I mean.


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

*Trust*

Ain't that sump'n? Handshakes & eyeballs...Almost everyone is trustworthy from my exp. very few bad eggs.


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

*SqkCrk*

Does he also tag the ones that are extraordinarily active and adjust the price accordingly?


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Tom G. Laury said:


> Does he also tag the ones that are extraordinarily active and adjust the price accordingly?


No Tom. But I will say that there hasn't been any adjustment. Just the knowledge that if they aren't satisfied w/ the hives that I'll work w/ them.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Tom G. Laury said:


> Almost everyone is trustworthy from my exp. very few bad eggs.


That's the way I live my life. Everyone is trustworthy until they show me that they aren't. And then it's up to me to decide how to handle the situation.

Screw me once, shame on you,
screw me twice, shame on me?

(not what Bush said,  )


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## RobertLorge (Mar 17, 2009)

*A Contract Does More Than Legally Protect: It Educates*

I think it is always good to use a contract, even though sometimes even I don't and I am a lawyer as well as a commerical beekeeper and pollinator. 

The handshake crowd maybe never thought of this, but a contract does more than just legally protect the parties and the agreement. It acts as a written reminder on timetables and schedules. It reminds on the procedure for emergencies such as if a neighbor sprays pesticide or herbicides and the grower just learned of it or other problems, like bears, vandals or theft. It provides handy contact info. And it educates. 

That's right it: a contract provides and opportunity to educate your grower and vice versa (or other handlers and brokers etc.). Many times a trucker or especially a grower does not know anything about bees, especially your bees, and your contract can explain some simple important basics of bees to them. What they need, what to expect, some fo the why, how to, and whens, and anything else you want to teach them.

If you want you can look at my contract, it is always being revised, and changed, and no one should think a printed form limits them, you can cross out, write in, change, modify, right there and then with a pen. That is allowed, in short you can tailor it for your or your specific grower.

http://www.LORGEFORWISCONSIN.com/

or the actual contract we currently are using:

https://p9.secure.hostingprod.com/@www.lorgeforwisconsin.com/ssl/PollinationContract2009.pdf


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## Joel (Mar 3, 2005)

JohnK and Sheri said:


> JPK, we have over 50 bee yards with average 40 colonies each and don't have a single contract, nor have we for over 30 years. We DO have 1 mil liability insurance, which we have never (knock on wood) ever had to use.
> I think presenting a contract trying to transfer all liability to them would just raise red flags and IMO is not necessary. If someone is going to sue you a contract will not keep you out of court.
> We talk to our landowners about pesticide use (farmers generally _know_ pesticides kill insects ) and give them our phone number to be available for questions or concerns, but to date, the sole cause of calls is to report the inevitable swarms or to find out when the yard rent honey will be available or to order more.
> Sheri


We don't do pollination, we do have a dozen outyards. Like Sheri and Mark we do much on a handshake and carry 1M in liability. Two of the yards are for an apple orchard and a hops operation. They wanted our bees for their benefit but we still keep them supplied with honey and I have no shortage of apples or hops (often in the form of a couple of beers after working bees at that yard late in the day with some good conversation thrown in as a premium)! No contract needed! I think it is kind of ingrained in farmers to do business this way. Possibly not the best business practice but certainly in my mind an enjoyable way. I think there are many good people out there who genuinely enjoy being, well, genuine. I enjoy working with these types and apparrently other do as well.


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

*Contracts*

No question about it, the dullest pencil is better than the sharpest memory.


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## Bud Dingler (Feb 8, 2008)

i don't think many would argue that a contact is a good idea for pollination. 

however a contract for a bee yard is overkill IMO.


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

*Hey Bud*

I've been wondering for a while; Augur hole as in beehive ( unlikely ) as in Ice Fishing? ( more likely ) Do you know?


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## RobertLorge (Mar 17, 2009)

Oh yes, Sheri and Mark are lucky to be able to do business that way, (for some reason I confused Sheri and Mark with John and Sheri in Illinois in an earlier post...but I digress).... but she is right, in Wisconsin you can do a lot of business that way if it is with people you know are punctual, reliable, and trustworthy, and loyal. Imagine not knowing them that well, or a change of generational ownership, or corporate management, there you could be in for a big surprise where the loyalty and trust do not transfer, or if you really did not know the person, or if they have new unforseen problems (such as with their bank) and you end up being the one with no legally protected interest and get left out on a limb.....a limb with no nectar flow at that. Like I said, contracts do more than protect rights, they educate, they remind, they can even help with tax accounting for both parties at the end of the year if the payment schedule was included, since most self employed business owners have to account for quarterly tax payments and they have accountants do their taxes who do not know you or what and when you were paid etc. Writing makes it easier for everyone. 

If writing were of little benefit, the nation would be more illiterate, and schools would just be replaced with babysitters.

I like being literate. I like doing business with people who are.


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

RobertLorge said:


> (for some reason I confused Sheri and Mark with John and Sheri in Illinois in an earlier post...)....


Hi Robert
First let me clear up this confusion. There is no "_Sheri and_ Mark" (unless he has another one we don't know about ); the previous post included us both but as two different individuals, not meant to be a family unit. There IS a "Johnk and Sheri" but we are from WISCONSIN, not Illinois. Just a ways west of you between Eau Claire and Wausau.



RobertLorge said:


> I like being literate. I like doing business with people who are.


I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume this post was not meant to be condescending. Trust me on this, I am literate and every beekeeper I know is literate. We protect our interests as we deem necessary.
I think you are confusing pollination contracts with yard rent agreements. And absolutely one had better have a contract going into pollination unless one has a long term relationship with and trusts his broker or grower. On the other hand, yard rent agreements are little more than the beekeeper being given access to someone's property for the purpose of honey production or staging and for that privilege usually agreeing to give the landowner an amount of honey in return. There are few details to be reminded of, there is no pay schedule, there are no accounting complexities. In our case (and I suspect this is fairly universal) the landowners in question are our neighbors or our friend's and family's neighbors. More business is done between these folks with a handshake than with a contract. There is a lot of bartering between parties. If they don't know each other, they know each other's family. If a confusion develops, it is dealt with face to face, seldom over a lawyers table. Not only is a contract not necessary, it would be an insult. We are perhaps fortunate to have managed to surround ourselves with those trustworthy reliable loyal folks you refer to and we find them anything but rare. They are the norm. I know dozens of beekeepers who do business like this, we in Wisconsin are not the exception.
Yes, the world is changing and in some situations a contract might be very prudent but we haven't gotten to that point yet here in our area and hopefully won't in our time in the business.
Sheri


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## irwin harlton (Jan 7, 2005)

*are beeyards registered and*

a certain distance specified between them in wisconson? I know they are in Montanaand I think North Dakota


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

Irwin, they are not specified here, at least not in writing or by law. There is usually agreement between keepers based on longevity, home location etc., to keep yards about 1-2 miles minimum apart. 
We are torn as to whether registering bee yards is a good or a bad thing. The draft we saw was unworkable. It would be very onerous for commercial keepers (for instance, no yards over a small amount (20? 30? can't remember) permitted, except for pollinating purposes or for a very limited time for staging. Also, if you vacate your yards for a specific time, another keeper could come in. Well, migrators DO vacate, temporarily, so this would encourage encroachment by other beeks.) The proposed rules would make commercials' businesses about impossible to run. But, on the other hand, it is irksome when an out of state migrator plops down between two of your best honey producing yards, so maybe with enough input from the commercials it would on balance be a good thing. 
Sheri


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## Bud Dingler (Feb 8, 2008)

Tom G. Laury said:


> I've been wondering for a while; Augur hole as in beehive ( unlikely ) as in Ice Fishing? ( more likely ) Do you know?


Actually Mn is one of the few places you can ice fish in the morning and work bees in the afternoon! Seriously I have done that in March and April. 

Still snow on the ground here where I live during the winter. I live off the grid with a satellite internet connection and solar panels for power. No cell coverage or any services up here. 

I have a summer shack I live in or my sleeper in my flatbed during bee season and work yards in Wisco and southern MN, all stationary bees still wrapped as the weather is 20's to 40's yet.


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## RobertLorge (Mar 17, 2009)

*Yards versus Pollination Contracts*

Oh, I agree. I only meant pollination contracts, I own all my own yards or they are with friends, family, etc. :gh:


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## RobertLorge (Mar 17, 2009)

Right you are the Kohns not Long Lane Apiary in Illinois, sorry about the Sheri mixup


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## high rate of speed (Jan 4, 2008)

unless you have been to cali,even through a broker dont speculate or throw statements.


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## RobertLorge (Mar 17, 2009)

*PollinationContract2009.pdf*

I have been to California many many times, sometimes I think too many times. 

I think about the first time, when the former Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court wanted me to come to law school in California. And times since, for politics, pleasure and business.

For those that asked see our standard contract that you can adapt and use for your own uses, but, this is not offered as legal advice, as I am only saying this is my own contract for Wisconsin and elsewhere that I use. You should consult your own attorney and have them make your own contract form for your own state and needs.

https://p9.secure.hostingprod.com/@www.lorgeforwisconsin.com/ssl/PollinationContract2009.pdf


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## GuerillaBeek (Jan 11, 2011)

JPK said:


> Basic Legal Agreement for Bees/Pollination
> 
> Does anyone have a basic template agreement/contract they are willing to share that is basically a CYA for placing bees on a small farm?
> 
> ...


Hi JPK,
I'm in the same situation. I have bees and need places to put them. I have people offering apiary space. All could be probably be done on a handshake, but it's that _*probably*_ part that makes me want at least a simple land use agreement. 

Unfortunately not all of us have been keeping bees for 30 years and so are well known in our communities that everything can be done on a handshake. The possibility of losing all one's woodenware and stock is a very real one if, for instance, the landowner passes away and his/her heirs have no knowledge of the agreement. I don't feel that contracts should send up red flags, rather, they simply outline a basic agreement in absolutely certain terms that everyone can be happy with.

I still haven't found a land use/outyard contract but, out of desperation, am in the process of writing one up myself. I am not a lawyer (nor do I play one on TV) and anything I've come up with, if you decide to use it, will be at your own peril as I make no claims to it's viability legality. I would welcome any input. I really feel that part of what we do as beekeepers is to educate the public, and building and maintaining a professional demeanor. Please email me if you would like a work-in-progress copy.


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