Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824, USA.
J Dairy Sci. 2012 Jul;95(7):4176-83. doi: 10.3168/jds.2011-5219.
Volatility in milk and feed prices can adversely affect dairy farm profitability. Many risk management tools are available for use by US dairy farmers. This research uses surveys of Michigan dairy farmers to examine the extent to which price risk management tools have been used, the farm and operator characteristics that explain the use of these tools, and reasons farmers have not used these tools. A 1999 survey was used to benchmark the degree to which dairy producers had used milk and feed price risk management instruments to compare with 2011 use rates. The surveys collected information about the farm characteristics such as herd size, farmland operated, business organization, and solvency position. Farm operator characteristics collected include age, education, and experience. Dairy farmer use of both milk and feed price risk management tools increased between 1999 and 2011. In 2011, herd size was positively related to the use of milk price risk management tools, whereas farms organized as a sole proprietorship were less likely to use them. Also in 2011, herd size and land operated were positively related to feed price risk management tools, whereas operator age was negatively related. Reasons why farmers had not used price risk management tools included basis risk, cost, lack of management time, cooperative membership, and lack of understanding. Conclusions include the need for educational programming on price risk management tools and a broader exploration of dairy farm risk management programs.
牛奶和饲料价格的波动会对奶农的盈利能力产生不利影响。美国奶农有许多风险管理工具可供使用。本研究通过对密歇根州奶农的调查，考察了价格风险管理工具的使用程度、解释这些工具使用的农场和经营者特征，以及农民未使用这些工具的原因。1999 年的一项调查被用来衡量奶农使用牛奶和饲料价格风险管理工具的程度，以便与 2011 年的使用率进行比较。调查收集了有关农场特征的信息，如畜群规模、经营的农田、企业组织和偿债能力状况。收集的农场经营者特征包括年龄、教育程度和经验。1999 年至 2011 年间，奶农对牛奶和饲料价格风险管理工具的使用都有所增加。2011 年，畜群规模与牛奶价格风险管理工具的使用呈正相关，而独资经营的农场则不太可能使用这些工具。同样在 2011 年，畜群规模和土地经营与饲料价格风险管理工具呈正相关，而经营者年龄则呈负相关。农民未使用价格风险管理工具的原因包括基差风险、成本、缺乏管理时间、合作社成员资格和缺乏了解。结论包括需要对价格风险管理工具进行教育规划，并更广泛地探索奶牛场风险管理计划。
