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Information Needs and Risk Management Strategies Preferred by Limited Resource Farmers in Alabama

Duncan M. Chembezi

Summary

Knowledge and information are critical in generating high quality management and coping with risk associated with farming. Agricultural producers with access to risk management information and the knowledge to use it have the key to profitable and competitive farm operations. The problem is that small and limited resource farmers often struggle to find and use appropriate information. Most of them experience frustrations of not being able to locate answers to specific questions, not understanding the information presented, and being overloaded with too much information to filter through to find what they need. Given the risky situation in agriculture, it should be especially important for farmers and agricultural businesses to increase their awareness and understanding of insurance programs and alternative risk-management tools and strategies. However, the number of available tools and strategies for risk management seems to be increasing very rapidly, which means awareness and understanding may be more difficult to accomplish than in the past. This poster is aimed at sharing the results of the needs assessment survey conducted in 2006 involving 300 small and limited resource farmers in Alabama. It also highlights some of the important strategies or tools preferred by agricultural producers in dealing with agricultural risk.

Details

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