A rapidly changing business environment has dictated a need for farmers to improve their risk management skills. The 1996 Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act (FAIR) also created a new environment for American farmers by eliminating planting restrictions and deficiency payments....

The most dramatic change occurring in agricultural production is the change in business strategies. In the US, family farmers have traditionally made decisions with whatever information they could independently gather. Today, the ability to assimilate an overload of data into decision making...