Farm Progress

Guidelines for using paint to ward off trespassers.

Mindy Ward, Editor, Missouri Ruralist

September 27, 2017

2 Min Read
PURPLE POWER: Landowners can paint fence posts and trees purple to protect their property from trespassers.pavelalexeev/iStock/Thinkstock

You might have seen it hiking that favorite trail, or tracking the trophy buck. Purple paint on trees or fence posts in rural areas — but what does it mean?

For almost 25 years, Missouri has allowed landowners to use purple paint to serve as a warning to unwanted trespassers. In 1993, the Missouri Legislature enacted the Purple Paint Statute (RSMO 569.145). This statute serves as a warning for uninvited guests, but also as a protection for landowners.

The Purple Paint Statute allows landowners to mark trees or posts with purple paint, communicating to individuals that no entrance to the property without permission is allowed, according to Mary Sobba, University of Missouri Extension ag business specialist.

While "No Trespassing" signs still work, there is always the possibility that those signs will be stolen or removed. The purple paint makes that difficult, thus safeguarding the landowner.

Sobba says the law is an economic alternative for farmers or landowners who do not want to fence their property. "The law does not require property marked with purple paint to be fenced," she notes in a recent newsletter.

How it works
Farmers and ranchers may indicate there is no trespassing on their property by placing identifying purple marks on trees or posts around the area to be off-limits. There are purple paint guidelines that need to be followed to have the property marked correctly.

Here are the guidelines:

1. The purple paint must be used on trees or posts.

2. There must be a vertical line at least 8 inches in length. The bottom edge of each paint mark must be between 3 feet and 5 feet off the ground. The marks shall be placed no more than 100 feet apart and readily visible to any person approaching the property; or

3. The marks must be visible. A post must be capped or otherwise marked on at least its top 2 inches. The bottom of the cap or mark must be between 3 feet and 5 feet, 6 inches high. Posts marked shall be placed not more than 36 feet apart and readily visible to any person approaching the property. Prior to applying a cap or mark, which is visible from both sides of a fence shared by different property owners or lessees, all owners or lessees shall agree to post their property.

4. The landowner must use the correct paint. Purple boundary posting paint is formulated specifically for marking property. It is available at most hardware stores.

Penalties for trespassing
According to Missouri law, any person trespassing onto property marked by purple paint can be found guilty of a first-degree trespassing charge. First-degree trespassing is a Class B misdemeanor, with potential punishment of a maximum $500 fine and/or a maximum of six months in jail.

Farmers and ranchers may want to consider doing a little painting to keep trespassers out this year.

About the Author(s)

Mindy Ward

Editor, Missouri Ruralist

Mindy resides on a small farm just outside of Holstein, Mo, about 80 miles southwest of St. Louis.

After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism, she worked briefly at a public relations firm in Kansas City. Her husband’s career led the couple north to Minnesota.

There, she reported on large-scale production of corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and dairy, as well as, biofuels for The Land. After 10 years, the couple returned to Missouri and she began covering agriculture in the Show-Me State.

“In all my 15 years of writing about agriculture, I have found some of the most progressive thinkers are farmers,” she says. “They are constantly searching for ways to do more with less, improve their land and leave their legacy to the next generation.”

Mindy and her husband, Stacy, together with their daughters, Elisa and Cassidy, operate Showtime Farms in southern Warren County. The family spends a great deal of time caring for and showing Dorset, Oxford and crossbred sheep.

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