Farmer perceptions of risk in 2017

Abstract

Agribusinesses seeking to serve farmer clientele, as well as those buying products from the farm for processing or transport, need to understand the factors impacting on‐farm decision making. A best–worst choice experiment was employed to determine farmer perceptions of five general risk areas: production, marketing, financial, human, and legal risks. Results indicate, on average, farmers were more concerned with traditional farm business risks (production, financial, and marketing risks) relative to human and legal risks when managing their farm businesses. However, significant heterogeneity in perceptions of risk areas was observed. A latent class model identified three segments of producers that were characterized by preferences for traditional farm business risks, well‐balanced preferences for all five risks, and a large preference share for human risks. Understanding how different farm types and managers with varying demographics prioritize risk areas is helpful for targeting specific risk management programming and support services to relevant farm audiences. [EconLit citations: Q1].