How to Start an Agritourism or Farm Stand Business in Kansas: Ag Exemption, Food Rules and Local Zoning

A pumpkin sold off a folding table and a paid hayride both count as retail sales in Kansas. That means a state tax registration, a food question and a zoning question all need answers before the first visitor arrives. This guide covers how to start an agritourism business in Kansas in the order the paperwork usually comes up: legal entity, tax registration, the agricultural exemption, food rules, and local land use. It is written for a farm that plans to run a produce stand and add visitor activities such as tours, seasonal events or a corn maze.

This is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, and the right answer for your farm depends on what you sell, where the land sits and how you are organized. Talk with a Kansas attorney and a certified public accountant (CPA) before you sign a lease, buy a building or form a new entity.

What You Need Before You Start

Pull these together before you file anything. Several items are free, and the rest are small, known costs.

• Your exact business name and one backup name, checked in the Kansas Secretary of State business search.
• If you form an LLC, a Kansas resident agent. Kansas uses the term resident agent, which can be an individual, a business registered in Kansas, or the entity itself. The registered office must be a Kansas street address where that agent can regularly be present. A PO box will not work.
• A federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS.
• A written list of every product and activity you plan to offer, marking which items are whole produce, which are cut or prepared, and which are admissions.
• The parcel number and the name of the city or county that governs the property. Kansas has 105 counties and 624 cities, and every incorporated place is legally a city.
• Form ST-28F, the agricultural exemption certificate, for the farm's own purchases of inputs and equipment.
• A budget that covers the state fees below, any local permits, and insurance quotes.

Step 1: Sort Your Products and Visitor Activities by Tax Treatment

Before you touch a form, map every dollar that will change hands. Kansas treats each type of sale differently, and those categories drive your registration, your records and your tax collection.

Whole produce is the simplest category. A farmer who sells fresh whole fruits and vegetables, or pumpkins, at retail must register with the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) and collect sales tax. Admissions are a separate category. Admissions to amusement and entertainment are taxable, so a paid hayride, corn maze, petting area or pumpkin patch entry fee should be treated as a taxable sale. Confirm with KDOR how it classifies any unusual charge, such as a pick-your-own fee, before you set prices.

Prepared foods, baked goods, jams, cut fruit and samples fall outside whole produce and raise the food questions covered in Step 5. Write the categories down now and keep sales records split by category from day one. Separating them later is slow and error-prone.

Step 2: Choose Your Legal Structure and File With the Secretary of State

Your structure decides what you file and with whom. A sole proprietorship does not file formation documents with the Secretary of State, but the owner carries the business's liability personally. Many operators with visitors, employees or buildings use an LLC to separate business and personal liability. Whether that separation fits your farm is a question for your attorney.

For an LLC, the formation document is the Articles of Organization, Domestic (Kansas) Limited Liability Company, Form DL. The filing fee is $85 online or $90 on paper. You can file through the Secretary of State Business Services online filing portal, which processes online filings within minutes and lets you print the certified copy immediately. Paper filings are processed by mail from the Topeka office. A corporation files Articles of Incorporation, Domestic (Kansas) Corporation, Form AI, for the same fee, $85 online or $90 on paper.

If you need to hold a name while you finish paperwork, a name reservation costs $35 and lasts 120 days. The Secretary of State publishes the name reservation form as a PDF.

Put the recurring filing on your calendar on day one. Kansas uses a biennial Information Report, not an annual report. An LLC files Form ILC and a for-profit corporation files Form IFP, each at $90 online ($110 on paper), due every two years by April 15. An LLC formed in an even year reports in each succeeding even year, and one formed in an odd year reports in each succeeding odd year. A three-month delinquency window follows the due date before forfeiture.

Kansas has no franchise tax. An LLC is a pass-through entity for state income tax, so members report Kansas income on their individual returns at 5.2 percent on Kansas taxable income up to $23,000 for single filers ($46,000 for married filing jointly), and 5.58 percent above those thresholds. An LLC taxed as a corporation pays the 3.5 percent corporate normal tax plus a 3 percent surtax on Kansas taxable income over $50,000. Ask your CPA which treatment applies to you.

Step 3: Name the Business Correctly

An LLC name must contain L.L.C., L.C., LLC, LC, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY or LIMITED COMPANY, in English or in another language written in Roman characters. The Secretary of State checks the name against entities already registered. If a similar name is in use, you must file a Consent to Use of Similar Business Name, Form CN, with your formation document.

A farm name or stand name you use in public is a trade name, and Kansas has no state-level DBA filing. The Secretary of State does not register assumed, fictitious, trade or DBA names. Check city and county rules for name requirements. If the name matters to your brand, consider a trademark or service mark registration through the Secretary of State. Use the same name on your sign, website, tax registration and bank account so that customers and agencies see one business.

Step 4: Register With KDOR and Understand the Ag Exemption

Register for sales tax through the KDOR business registration page. Registration is free. The Kansas state sales tax rate is 6.5 percent, and local city and county sales taxes can add to that depending on where the stand sits. Confirm the combined rate for your address before you post prices. Do not make taxable sales until your registration is in place.

This is where many farm owners get confused. Form ST-28F lets a farm buy inputs and equipment that qualify for the agricultural exemption without paying sales tax on those purchases. It is a purchasing document. It does not make your produce, pumpkins or admission tickets tax-exempt when a customer pays you. KDOR Publication 1550 explains the exemption in more detail, so check it before you rely on the certificate for any purchase.

Step 5: Sort Out Food Rules With KDA Food Safety

Food is where agritourism farms most often get surprised. Selling whole produce is the simplest path. Food sold beyond whole produce, such as jams, baked goods, sauces, cut fruit or prepared items, needs either the cottage food exemption or a Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) license. Confirm which path applies to each product with KDA Food Safety before you sell it.

Ask KDA Food Safety specifically about:

• Whether each product you plan to make qualifies for the cottage food exemption, and what limits apply.
• Whether cut produce, samples or a shared tasting table counts as food service.
• Eggs, meat or other animal products, which raise separate questions.
• Any food truck, cart or temporary booth you plan to use at events.

Get the answers in writing or save the email thread. If an inspector or a customer later questions a product, a written record of what KDA told you is far more useful than a memory of a phone call.

Step 6: Check Local Zoning and Building Codes

This step matters most for visitor activities. The Governor vetoed S Sub HB 2111 in 2026. That bill would have barred cities and counties from enforcing building codes on registered non-public agritourism locations. The kslegislature.gov site shows no override. Plan on cities and counties still applying building codes and zoning to agritourism venues, and check with your local planning office before you build, buy or host.

Put these questions to the planning office in writing:

• Is a farm stand or agritourism use allowed in the zoning district for this parcel, or does it need a conditional use or special use approval?
• Does a hayride, event tent, temporary structure or barn space need a building permit or occupancy review?
• What parking, access, sign and setback rules apply?
• If you add restrooms or food service, which office handles the water, wastewater and health approvals?
• Which contractor licenses does the city or county require? Kansas has no statewide general contractor, electrician, plumber or HVAC license. Cities and counties license those trades, so the crew you hire may need a local license.

Jurisdiction depends on location. A parcel inside city limits falls under city rules, and a parcel outside city limits generally falls under county rules. If the farm sits near the Kansas City area, confirm the exact jurisdiction. Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri are different cities in different states. Only Kansas City, Missouri has a city earnings tax.

Step 7: Check Trade Licenses and Activity Rules

Kansas issues no general statewide business license. Registering your entity with the Secretary of State is a filing, and registering for KDOR taxes is a registration. Licensing runs by agency and by trade, plus city and county rules. For a farm stand, the agencies to check first are:

• KDA, for food, pesticides and pet animals.
• KDOR, for liquor, cigarettes and dealers. If you plan wine tasting or any alcohol sales, confirm the rules with KDOR before you pour.
• Your city or county, for signs, events, vendor permits and any local business registration.

If you offer guided hunting or fishing, note that the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) repealed the state guide license in 2006, so no state guide license is needed under that rule. Check with KDWP for current rules on guiding, hunting access and fees before you advertise a guided activity.

Step 8: Address Insurance and Visitor Safety

A working farm brings risks a produce stand does not: hayrides, animals, ladders, uneven ground and crowds at events. This guide does not cover insurance requirements. Ask a licensed insurance agent for general liability quotes that name your specific activities, and ask whether the policy covers events, animal contact and food sales. Read the exclusions. Post written safety rules where visitors can see them.

Step 9: Complete the Launch Checklist

Before opening day, confirm that your sales tax registration is active, your sign and parking are approved, your food product list is cleared with KDA, your insurance is bound, and your resident agent and registered office are current on file. Kansas requires you to update the Secretary of State record whenever the name, resident agent or address changes. Put April 15 of your filing year on the calendar, with a reminder well ahead of it.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Treating Form ST-28F as a sales tax exemption for your customers.
• Selling cut fruit, samples or baked goods under whole-produce rules.
• Assuming a county permit covers a parcel inside city limits, or the reverse.
• Using a PO box as the registered office.
• Looking for a state-level DBA filing that does not exist in Kansas.
• Assuming that the vetoed HB 2111 exempts your venue from building codes.
• Forgetting the biennial Information Report due by April 15.
• Hiring a contractor without confirming the local license the work requires.

What to Expect After You Launch

Following these steps should leave you with a registered entity, an active sales tax account, a documented food position for each product, and written zoning answers from your local office. Those records reduce the risk of enforcement surprises. They do not guarantee sales, visitor numbers or approval of any particular activity, and your results will depend on local rules and on how you run the operation. Describe your products by what they are, and avoid health or medicinal claims for produce or farm products, because those claims bring in separate rules.

Fees and Timing at a Glance

Item	Agency	Cost	Timing
Articles of Organization, LLC (Form DL)	Secretary of State	$85	Online filings process within minutes
Name reservation	Secretary of State	$35	Holds the name for 120 days
Biennial Information Report (Form ILC or IFP)	Secretary of State	$90	Every two years by April 15
Sales tax registration	KDOR	Free	Complete before the first taxable sale
Food product questions	KDA Food Safety	Confirm with KDA	Before selling any product beyond whole produce
Zoning, building and contractor permits	City or county	Confirm locally	Before construction, events or hosting visitors

Official Resources

• Kansas Secretary of State, Business Services
• Secretary of State, Register a Business
• Kansas Department of Revenue, Business
• Kansas Small Business Development Center
• SBA Wichita District Office

Disclaimer: This article is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Agency fees, rates and rules can change. Confirm current requirements with the named agency, and consult a qualified Kansas attorney and CPA before making decisions about your entity, taxes, insurance or property.