1. About these terms
These Terms of Service govern use of bluedotfarms.org, including its public directory, community contributions, verification program, badges, and farmer accounts. “Blue Dot Farms,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to the operators of this website. By using the service, you agree to these terms to the extent an enforceable agreement is formed under applicable law. If you do not agree, please discontinue use.
A farm does not become a party to these terms merely because someone suggests or lists it. You do not have to accept these terms, create an account, or waive any rights to request a correction or removal. Our Privacy Policy explains our information practices.
2. A public, community-contributed directory
Blue Dot Farms is an independent public directory to which community members have contributed farm and ranch information. Suggestions may come from community members, farm representatives, and publicly available business sources. A community submission is a suggestion for review; it is not a statement made or authorized by the farm unless identified as such.
Community-contributed listings may be published after review of public business information without an application or prior endorsement from the farm. A listing does not imply that the farm submitted, approved, or endorses it. Only an authorized representative may claim or manage a farm account or supply a statement on its behalf. Farms may opt out at any time as described below. We may decline, correct, suspend, or remove a submission or listing.
We are not an operating farm, retailer, political party, candidate, campaign, government agency, or agricultural or food-safety certification body. A listing does not create an agency, partnership, sponsorship, or other legal relationship with a farm.
3. How verification works
We review community-submitted information using the farm’s own website and publicly accessible social-media content, including business-controlled accounts where available. We compare relevant business details, source links, and any public statement supplied by the farm. Sources may be incomplete, outdated, unavailable, or incorrectly attributed, and our review may not identify every error.
“Verified,” “community verified,” a review date, or a Blue Dot badge means the listing completed our directory review based on the information available at that time. It is a limited review of a listing, not an independent audit or a guarantee of continuing accuracy. Our Directory Standards explain the review and badge program.
4. Verification does not establish political leaning
Inclusion in this directory or verification does not mean that a farm leans politically in either direction. Neither a listing nor a badge establishes, certifies, or guarantees any farm’s or individual’s political affiliation, party membership, ideology, voting history, candidate support, or endorsement of a movement.
We do not verify private ballots. A farm’s published statement remains that farm’s statement, presented in its context; it must not be treated as proof of the beliefs or votes of its owners, employees, customers, or other associated people. The directory’s name, theme, categories, and branding do not change these limits. Inclusion also does not imply endorsement of Blue Dot Farms by a political party, candidate, or listed business.
5. Opt out, corrections, and listing removal
Farms can opt out at any time by emailing contact@bluedotfarms.org. We will remove any listing from our public directory when contacted with a request to remove it. Include the farm name and, if available, its profile link so we can identify the listing. No fee, account, explanation of political views, or proof of a legal violation is required. If we cannot identify the listing, we will ask only for the details needed to locate it.
Removal requests are handled by our team, rather than automatically when an email is sent. We will act promptly after identifying the listing. You can use the same address to report inaccurate, unauthorized, or privacy-invasive information or misuse of a badge. Removal is not an admission of wrongdoing by anyone.
Removal covers the public listing and its active verification status on services we control. It does not guarantee deletion from search-engine caches, independent websites, screenshots, or other third-party copies. Limited nonpublic records may remain as explained in our Privacy Policy. An opt-out remains in effect unless an authorized farm representative later asks to participate again.
6. Privacy and responsible contributions
We take data privacy seriously. Directory contributions should be limited to relevant, publicly available business information and material you have permission to share. Public availability does not give permission to copy protected material, expose private information, or misrepresent a person or business.
Do not submit private voter records, purported secret-ballot information, personal contact details that are not published for business use, private residential addresses, identification documents, financial information, or other unnecessary sensitive personal information. Do not infer an individual’s political beliefs from a business listing. Please report privacy concerns to contact@bluedotfarms.org; we will remove a listing on request as described above.
Information processing, safeguards, retention, and applicable privacy choices are described in our Privacy Policy. Nothing in these terms reduces privacy rights or obligations imposed by applicable law.
7. Community submissions and authorized farm accounts
Community members may suggest farms and corrections without claiming to represent them. Identify your relationship to the farm accurately, distinguish factual information from opinion, and provide source links where possible. Do not falsely imply that a farm approved a submission.
Only an authorized representative may claim or manage a farmer account, consent on a farm’s behalf, or submit a statement as the farm’s own. Keep access to your account email secure and notify us of unauthorized access. Farmer profile edits may publish immediately. You are responsible for content you submit and activity you authorize through your account.
8. Rights in submitted content
You retain ownership of content you submit. You grant us a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, reproduce, format, display, and distribute that content as reasonably necessary to operate and maintain the directory and verification program. You must have the rights needed to grant this license; a community submission cannot grant rights belonging to a farm or another person.
This license ends for removed content except for limited nonpublic retention reasonably necessary for backups, security, legal obligations, and resolving disputes. We do not claim ownership of public facts, farm trademarks, or third-party materials. Linking to a source does not transfer ownership of its content.
9. Acceptable use
Do not submit false, defamatory, deceptive, infringing, unlawful, threatening, or malicious content; impersonate anyone; claim a farm without authority; harass or target farms or individuals; expose private information; harvest contact information for spam; bypass security; introduce harmful code; or interfere with the service. Do not use directory information to construct or circulate unsupported claims about a person’s political affiliation or voting behavior.
We may restrict access, remove content, or suspend accounts for misuse or to protect the service and others. These measures do not limit the right to request listing removal.
10. Badges and branding
An authorized participating farm may display the badge supplied for its active, approved listing with a link to the corresponding profile. A badge communicates the limited review described in these terms; it must not be used as political certification or a guarantee of products, safety, or practices.
Do not alter a badge, use it for a different business, or display it as active after the listing is removed or verification is suspended or withdrawn. Do not use our name or branding to falsely imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation. Our original site content, design, code, badges, and branding remain the property of Blue Dot Farms or its licensors, subject to rights provided by law.
11. Accuracy and your own checks
Listings are informational and may contain errors or become outdated. Verification does not guarantee food safety, licensing, organic status, labor or environmental practices, animal welfare, product quality, inventory, prices, delivery, or transaction terms. Confirm material details directly with the farm before visiting, purchasing, or relying on a claim. Nothing on this site is legal, financial, medical, food-safety, or other professional advice.
12. Third-party websites and transactions
Links to farm websites, social networks, and other services are provided for reference. We do not control their content, availability, security, or privacy practices. Their own terms apply. We are not a party to purchases or other arrangements between you and a farm and do not guarantee either party’s performance.
13. Service availability and moderation
We may update, suspend, or discontinue parts of the service or change our directory standards. We do not guarantee continuous availability, continued inclusion, or a particular review outcome. We may review and correct content but do not promise continuous monitoring of every listing or source. Our removal commitment remains as stated in these terms.
14. Disclaimer of warranties
To the fullest extent permitted by law, the service and its content are provided “as is” and “as available,” without express or implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, noninfringement, accuracy, completeness, or error-free operation. This provision does not excuse us from obligations that cannot legally be excluded or override our express removal and privacy commitments.
15. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Blue Dot Farms and its operators are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, including lost profits or data, arising from use of or inability to use the service, reliance on directory content, or third-party conduct or transactions.
Nothing in these terms excludes liability for fraud, willful misconduct, gross negligence, or any liability that applicable law does not permit us to exclude or limit. Mandatory consumer and other statutory rights remain unaffected. Some jurisdictions do not allow particular exclusions, so these limitations apply only to the extent lawful.
16. Responsibility for unlawful submissions
To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify Blue Dot Farms and its operators for reasonable losses and expenses resulting from third-party claims caused by your unlawful submitted content, infringement of another person’s rights, or intentional misuse of the service. This does not apply to losses caused by our own misconduct or breach of law, and it does not require a listed farm to indemnify us merely because it appears in the directory.
17. Applicable law and disputes
These terms are governed by applicable United States law and the laws of Texas, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, except where mandatory law requires otherwise. Please contact contact@bluedotfarms.org about a concern so we can try to resolve it. Contacting us is not a prerequisite to exercising legal rights, and these terms do not require arbitration or waive a right to bring an individual or collective claim where available by law.
18. Changes and general provisions
We will post revised terms on this page and update the date. Material changes will be identified on the site or communicated directly where appropriate or required by law; additional consent will be obtained when legally required. Changes apply prospectively and do not retroactively eliminate accrued rights or pending removal requests.
If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply to the extent permitted by law. A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. Rights and obligations that by their nature should survive discontinued use continue only to the extent lawful.
19. Contact
For listing removal, opt-out, corrections, privacy concerns, content rights, or questions about these terms, email contact@bluedotfarms.org. Please include enough information to identify the listing or issue and avoid sending unnecessary sensitive personal information.