Introduction to Farming is Risky Business

Agriculture & Risk Management Education

Interactive simulation for students to learn real-time!

Farming Is Risky Business (FRB) is an interactive workshop that teaches students about risk management in agriculture. Students step into the role of the producer and make the same kinds of decisions real producers face — what to plant or raise, whether to buy new land, whether to contract prices, and whether to use insurance. Along the way, they encounter the same uncertainty real agriculture deals with: varying weather (shown through animal weights and yields), swinging markets (prices), and a healthy dose of chance.

FRB is currently offered at no cost to teachers thanks to a partnership with the USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA). Instructors can run a live, instructor-led workshop with their class or assign mini courses as self-paced work. Whether you're teaching a single class period or a full unit on agricultural risk management, FRB gives students a memorable, competitive way to learn concepts that usually live only in a textbook.

Funded by the USDA

Interactive between
students and instructors