Profitability and risk of crop and livestock production in Slovak farms

The paper focuses on profitability and risk of crop and livestock production based on an analysis of farms operating in the Slovak Republic. Risk in agriculture has been a matter of worldwide concern since 1933, when the concept of risk analysis was introduced. Agriculture is a sector facing particularly large risks, resulting mainly from natural factors outside the control of farmers. The resulting variations in farm output, combined with a relatively low price responsiveness of supply and demand, also cause agricultural markets to be rather volatile. The sources of risks that are relevant in agriculture have different characteristics, and can be classified in very different ways. Sources of risk include biological nature of production, dependency on climatic conditions, seasonality, animal and plant health, prices instability, policy regulations, and a range of macroeconomic factors.