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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Farmers and ranchers can manage a crisis by combining strategies that reduce exposure, preserve cash, transfer selected risks, and support recovery. The right mix depends on the operation: a drought, falling commodity prices, rising borrowing costs, a policy change, and a family emergency create different risks. USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) notes that most producers use a combination of strategies and tools to manage risks.
Identify which risks the crisis creates
Before choosing a response, identify what is threatened. USDA ERS groups farm risks into five broad categories:
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- Production: Weather, disease, pests, and other factors that affect the quantity or quality of crops and livestock.
- Price or market: Prices received for farm products and prices paid for inputs.
- Financial: Debt repayment, interest rates, and access to credit.
- Institutional: Government actions, regulations, and other rules affecting the operation.
- Human or personal: Events such as accidents, illness, death, divorce, or other health and relationship changes.
One event can affect several categories at once. For example, a production loss can reduce revenue and make loan payments harder. USDA ERS explains the risk categories in its Risk Management overview.
1. Spread exposure where it makes business sense
Enterprise diversification means relying on more than one crop, livestock activity, or other farm enterprise for income. If the activities do not move in perfect correlation, stronger results in one may partly offset weaker results in another.
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Diversification is not a guarantee against loss. New enterprises can require equipment, working capital, labor, expertise, or different marketing arrangements. Compare those costs and management demands with the risk you expect the added enterprise to reduce. A change that strains cash or distracts from the operation’s strongest activities may increase rather than ease pressure.
USDA ERS describes diversification and other strategies in Risk Management Strategies.
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2. Protect liquidity and make debt decisions deliberately
Liquidity is the ability to generate cash quickly and efficiently to meet financial obligations. During a crisis, map expected cash inflows and required outflows by date: operating costs, loan payments, taxes, family needs, and anticipated receipts. That makes it easier to see when a shortfall may occur and to discuss options with a lender before a missed payment becomes the only available signal.
Debt can help finance an operation, but more debt relative to net worth is generally riskier. The appropriate level of leverage depends on profitability, borrowing costs, risk tolerance, and how uncertain farm income is. Avoid treating a new loan or refinancing as a solution without weighing its repayment terms and the operation’s ability to service the debt under less favorable conditions.
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ERS covers liquidity, leverage, and farm financial risk in its risk-management guidance. A lender or qualified farm financial adviser can help assess choices using the operation’s actual cash flow and obligations.
3. Match insurance and market tools to the exposure
Insurance and marketing tools can transfer or limit selected risks, but they do not cover every loss. USDA ERS identifies yield and revenue insurance, futures and options, and contracts among the available approaches. Choose based on the specific exposure and the terms of the policy or agreement.
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- Yield insurance is aimed at covered production losses under the policy; it is not the same as protection against every decline in farm income.
- Revenue insurance addresses covered revenue losses as defined by the policy. It does not make all prices, costs, or financial outcomes predictable.
- Futures, options, and contracts can help manage price exposure, but their obligations, costs, and risks depend on how they are used and on the agreement.
For federal crop insurance, USDA Farmers.gov directs producers to obtain coverage through an agent. Policy terms, eligible crops, availability, and deadlines vary, so review the current policy documents and discuss fit with an agent. Farmers.gov also describes crop-insurance and disaster-assistance resources at Protection and Recovery.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.4. Plan for recovery and continuity
Risk management includes preparing to keep the farm operating and to recover after a shock. Review which records, people, equipment, and decisions are essential to continue production, and consider whether farm improvements or succession planning could reduce longer-term vulnerabilities.
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USDA Farmers.gov lists the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for eligible crops not covered by federal crop insurance. Producers must enroll and buy coverage for the eligible crop in the crop year to receive benefits after a qualifying disaster. Eligibility and program requirements apply; check current details with the Farm Service Agency or on Farmers.gov’s protection and recovery page.
Succession planning is also part of continuity, particularly when illness, death, or a change in ownership could disrupt the business. ERS reported that fewer than one-third of U.S. producers had a succession plan in place in 2019. That is a historical survey finding, not an estimate of how many have plans today. The report, Risk Management Practices on U.S. Farms and Ranches, 1996–2020, was published April 16, 2026.
Check dated program announcements before relying on them
Program flexibility can be temporary and conditional. On August 5, 2026, USDA’s Risk Management Agency announced that approved insurance providers could allow up to 60 additional days to pay certain crop-insurance premiums, fees, and amounts under written payment agreements for scheduled billing dates from July 1 through September 30, 2026. The announcement also reinstated an option to purchase additional 5% prevented-planting coverage. These provisions are not a universal entitlement: check the RMA announcement and confirm current status and applicability with the approved provider.
Choose a combination, not a single cure
These approaches are complementary, not a formal USDA ranking. A farm might use diversification to reduce reliance on one enterprise, preserve enough liquidity to handle disruptions, insure a defined production or revenue exposure, and document a continuity plan. Another operation may need a different mix. Base the decision on the risks present, the cost and conditions of each tool, and the farm’s financial position.
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