Student Research Explores How Farmers Use Risk Management Strategies
An Auburn Ph.D. student is researching how risk management strategies can improve farm resilience, reduce financial stress, and support long-term agricultural sustainability.
Auburn University
As part of Auburn University's Seeds of Research initiative, Ph.D. student Bridget Yeboah Bafowaa is investigating how agricultural producers use multiple risk management strategies to improve financial resilience.
Supported by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station's Agricultural Enhancement & Seed Funding Program, her work examines tools such as crop insurance, farm safety-net programs, income diversification, hedging, and off-farm employment.
The research addresses growing financial pressures facing farmers, including rising production costs, volatile commodity prices, increasing debt, and a rise in farm bankruptcies.
By analyzing how different combinations of risk management tools perform under varying financial conditions, the project aims to identify approaches that help producers reduce financial stress and avoid farm exits.
Findings from the research will be shared with producers, Extension professionals, policymakers, and USDA stakeholders to strengthen agricultural decision-making and improve the long-term sustainability of farming operations.