Farmers' decision-making: Perceptions of the importance, uncertainty, and controllability of selected factors

A survey was used to gain a broader understanding of the decision-making environment in which farmers operate and the acceptability of information available for decision-making. Farmers rated a series of nine decision variables according to their importance, degree of uncertainty, and the manageability of their influence upon the farm business. While farmers tended to give higher ratings for importance and influence to those issues they are confronted with daily, several emerging issues important to agriculture, such as public attitudes and the environment, were of less importance to farmers and|or they felt little control over them.