Trespass Trouble: ATV Damage on Farmland

Friday, November 21, 2025

By Mary Loggan

Across rural Ontario, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) have become popular for recreation and trail riding. But for many landowners and farmers, those same machines carry with them a growing frustration: Trespassing and property damage.

Again this past year, incidents of unauthorized riders cutting across fields, woodlots, and road allowances left behind deep ruts, broken trees, compacted soil, and damaged crops.

What riders often see as ‘open country’ is, in reality, land that is privately owned, maintained, and relied on for farm businesses and family use.

The problem runs deeper than just tracks in the soil. For farmers and property owners, trespassing raises concerns about safety, liability, lost productivity, and even potential lawsuits.

Better Farming recently spoke with Vickey Scott, a landowner who has dealt with ATV damage, and Tracey Arts, OFA zone director for Oxford and Elgin County, to discuss the real costs of ATV trespassing and the need for stronger awareness, regulation, and solutions.

Damages and risks

Scott has experienced trespassing issues for over 15 years, and the toll is unmistakable when walking her property.

“The damage is unbelievable – and it’s on private property,” she explains.

“We’ve been dealing with this for what feels like forever with no solutions.”

The Bruce County property owner says the devastation is clearly the result of ATV riders not respecting private land.

“Some of the ruts are two feet deep. When we were able to stop the ATVs from using a trail through our property, they would just move further down and make another one.

“We’ve lost trees because the roots have been exposed. Small saplings are broken as ATVs drive over them. We can’t even get into the bush anymore to cut firewood because we can’t take a tractor over the ruts,” she says.

Beyond the strain on her own property, Scott worries about escalating pressures if the local municipality moves forward with a proposal to lease out a nearby road allowance to an ATV club.

“I’m concerned because it’s the very people who are trespassing and causing the damage.

“Along with the damage to property comes noise, theft issues, and liability. All of that will only be amplified by giving them the trail.”

For Arts, these examples reflect a broader threat to farms across Ontario. ATVs can cut up fields and damage crop stands in ways that are not immediately obvious.

“It’s not just a little mark in a field,” she explains.

“On crops like alfalfa, a five-year crop, ruts created in the first year mean equipment has to go over those same spots again and again. That risk stays with the field across the rotation.”

The damages extend beyond crops. Farmers who produce maple syrup often leave lines strung through the bush, and unauthorized riders can snap or shred them and hurt themselves in the process, she points out.

Equipment stored in fields for winter can be struck or driven over, hidden beneath snow. And livestock producers face an even graver concern: Biosecurity.

“There’s a real danger of people bringing in diseases that harm livestock. Farmers need to control who comes in and out,” Arts stresses.

Scott further notes the liability concerns that haunt property owners. “If the ATV club gets the trail, they’re covered under insurance. But I’m on my own if someone comes off the trail and is hurt or killed on my property. We could lose everything we’ve worked for.”

Lack of awareness

“It has almost become the norm for people to trespass on farmland, and it shouldn’t be,” Arts explains.

“People often think they can just go onto a field or trail because it looks open, but it is owned by someone. They need permission. What they don’t realize is they’re creating dangers for us, for our businesses, and for themselves.”

Scott has witnessed this attitude first-hand. Despite erecting ‘private property’ and ‘no trespassing’ signs and years of complaints from multiple landowners, the intrusions continue.

Even after photographs were presented to the municipal council showing names and faces of riders, no charges were laid.

“Not once has a bylaw charge been enforced,” she says.

“Instead, whenever we bring up protecting our property, we’re told to fence it off at our own expense. Meanwhile, it feels like trespassers are being rewarded.”

Arts points to the common misconception that all rural space is ‘free land.’

“Just because a field isn’t plowed doesn’t mean there isn’t a crop growing there,” she says.

“And not every township has Crown land. Ownership varies.

“People need to educate themselves before setting foot on land that doesn’t belong to them.”

This lack of awareness creates ripple effects for safety – not just property damage, but also safety for children and bystanders.

“I also live here and have kids,” Arts says.

“We need to be able to keep our own families safe. If hunters and strangers are cutting through without permission, that’s an added risk.”

Liability compounds the problem. “Farmers are liable even if they haven’t given permission,” Arts explains.

“If someone gets hurt, the consequences can still fall back on the landowner.

“That’s something non-farmers often don’t realize.”

Solutions

Despite the frustration, both Scott and Arts continue to push for solutions.

For Scott and her neighbours, the most immediate measure would be for the municipality to either close the contested road allowance or sell it to the adjacent landowners.

“That would stop the damage and remove the liability from all of us,” she says.

For Arts and the OFA, solutions must be grounded in education, proactive risk management, and public accountability.

“We need more public education,” she explains.

“Put yourself in the shoes of the landowner. Just because it’s in the country doesn’t mean you aren’t on private property.”

She stresses practical tools that farmers can use immediately. “Put up clear signage. Document everything.

“Make sure there’s no confusion about whether people are supposed to be there or not. Be careful about using social media; don’t give away too much about your location or property in ways that could make you a target.

“Sometimes you have to go to the OPP if you’re really concerned.”

The OFA’s resources, such as its Securing Your Assets factsheet, offer guidance for farmers navigating trespass, liability and risk reduction. Farmers are encouraged to reach out directly to local federation representatives for help dealing with specific problems.

Both Scott and Arts agree that solutions must include both stronger regulations and meaningful enforcement of existing bylaws.

Without action, Scott believes the situation will only deepen resentment and worsen the damage.

Arts stresses, “You need to do everything you can to mitigate your risks.

“This is a safety issue, a business issue, and a biosecurity issue. Awareness is part of it, but it has to be matched with support. Rural landowners can’t be left carrying all of the risks alone.” BF