Bio-economic modelling of decisions under yield and price risk for suckler cow farms

Applying a bio-economic whole farm model we assess the impact of price and weather risk as well as different risk management strategies on the variability of the income in Swiss suckler cow production. We consider different on-farm risk management strategies such as the flexible adjustment of herd size, fodder composition and feed stocks, as well as an income insurance. Our results show that without any risk-management income variability is rather high, with coefficient of variation (CV) of income ranging from 26% to 31%. Taking on-farm risk management strategies into account it is possible to reduce income variability significantly (CV 12-15%), but causes only low reductions of mean income levels. Our results also indicate that income insurance is not attractive for farmers Our results thus suggest that in particular promoting better access to markets for feed stuff provides an valuable opportunities for farmers to manage income risks.