J. David Aiken, Professor and Water & Agricultural Law Specialist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Many agricultural contracts have an “act of God” clause in them which usually provides that because of the occurrence of the unforeseen extraordinary event, neither party is held to the contract. For contracts that do not have an “act of God” clause, other elements of general contract law may relieve one or both of the parties of liability for not performing under the contract. We will explore these issues as they might apply to the ag industry challenged by the current coronavirus pandemic.