Emerging Issues in Risk Management in Farm Firms

Farming is a high risk business because of the inherent variability of the natural environment in which it is placed and the markets in which its products are sold. Farmers have learned to cope with variability and have adopted management strategies which decrease risk to the farm firm. This paper examines the literature on emerging issues in risk management in agriculture and how farmers might react in the future. Attention is focused on managing changes in risk exposure due to climatic variability and market variability, and on management measures that protect the structure of the farm business.