Risks faced by agricultural producers come in many forms and can be classified in different ways. Similarly, tools to enable farmers to cope with risks are diverse. This article focuses on natural disasters, which seem set to increase in frequency with global warming, and the possible use of insurance to mitigate their effects. The specific example chosen is extreme weather incidents in Wales, where heavy snow and low temperatures in localised hill and mountain areas occasionally have substantial impacts on livestock numbers and the viability of farms there. Among the policy responses considered by the Welsh Government is the use of subsidised insurance. We review the attributes of such a scheme, set up in advance of extreme weather incidents, and what factors have prevented their establishment so far. A lack of statistical evidence on past farm-level losses is only part of the explanation; and weather incidents are only one form of impact that has to be taken into account. Even if subsidised insurance can be made to work as a policy tool, this is not necessarily the most efficient use of public funds. Welfare support as used in Wales in 2013 or education and training in resilience to risk may be preferable.

中文翻译：

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应对威尔士农场自然灾害的风险——保险有作用吗？

农业生产者面临的风险有多种形式，可以用不同的方式进行分类。同样，使农民应对风险的工具也多种多样。本文重点介绍自然灾害，随着全球变暖，自然灾害的频率似乎会增加，以及可能使用保险来减轻其影响。选择的具体例子是威尔士的极端天气事件，当地丘陵和山区的大雪和低温偶尔会对牲畜数量和农场的生存能力产生重大影响。威尔士政府考虑的政策反应之一是使用补贴保险。我们回顾了在极端天气事件发生之前建立的此类计划的属性，以及迄今为止阻止其建立的因素。缺乏过去农场层面损失的统计证据只是部分原因；天气事故只是一种必须考虑的影响形式。即使补贴保险可以作为一种政策工具发挥作用，这也不一定是最有效地利用公共资金。2013 年威尔士使用的福利支持或风险抵御能力教育和培训可能更可取。