Characteristics and Risk Management Needs of Limited-Resource and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers

by Robert Dismukes, Joy Harwood, and Susan E. Bentley

Small U.S. farms and those run by socially disadvantaged minority operators tend not to purchase insurance or to participate in insurance-type programs operated by USDA. This report traces the lack of use of such risk management measures to several characteristics of such farmers, who include females, blacks, American Indians, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and operators of Spanish origin. These farmers tend, more than the typical U.S. farm, to raise livestock rather than crops, and there are no government-sponsored insurance-type programs for livestock.

Keywords: risk management, crop insurance, limited-resource farmers, limited-opportunity farmers, small farms, socially disadvantaged farmers

In this publication...

• Entire Report
• References
• Appendix I