Both discussed the Crop Producer Risk Management Survey they conducted to gain credible information on the status of producer risk management. The four-state survey emphasized soybeans, cotton, corn and sorghum. General findings include the fact that larger farms are more comfortable with risk management tools and have participated in risk management training, small farms are more likely to rely on the Extension Service for risk management information and producers who have had training or used risk management tools tend to want more information. In addition to discussing results, they gave general insights into some of the issues surrounding these tools. Crop insurance is getting a bigger and bigger share of farm policy money.
Farmers are entrepreneurs and it is a risky business.
You are putting capital at risk, and it costs money to manage risk. All the pieces of risk management interact with each other and should be considered together. Usually producers need help thinking through the pieces. They may be really good in one area, but go out of the business because they neglected another area. A big problem is getting information from an unbiased source.