Proactive resilience: Managing the ‘invisible’ risks
in farming While there are more obvious, newer risks emerging, a holistic view is still essential to manage those longer term risks that often go unnoticed – until it’s too late. A s explored in our previous articles, farming risk is evolving, from digital transformation to regulatory reform. But not all risks present suddenly or dramatically. Some develop gradually, shaped by demographic change, ownership transition and structural evolution within the sector. While these risks may not always appear on a schedule of insured assets, they can materially influence long- term resilience and impact the farm – and the farmer – significantly. For brokers, it’s key to understand these issues to help provide that rounded, holistic advice and guidance, in order to be a genuine trusted adviser. Workforce pressures and operational continuity Whereas a decade ago, insurance experience may have One of the biggest risks to agriculture at present is people, says Caleb Richards, Practice Leader Agriculture at AgriRisk. “When we talk about risk in farming, people often jump straight to natural perils or commodity cycles, but the ability to source and retain skilled labour is a major issue,” he says. “We’re seeing shrinking regional communities,
and that makes it harder to find the right workforce at the right time.
“If you don’t have the right people operating increasingly sophisticated machinery and systems, that creates operational risk. It affects safety, productivity and continuity.” Labour shortages and regional population shifts continue to shape farming operations across Australia – and in some regions, attracting and retaining skilled workers remains a persistent challenge, particularly as machinery and systems become more technologically advanced. This requires different skillsets, different training, and can place the onus firmly back onto the farmer, adding to an increasing workload. That workforce capability influences more than productivity, of course. It affects safety outcomes, training standards, compliance processes, and the ability to respond effectively to operational disruptions. Tom Gilmore, Head of Farm Underwriting at Allianz Australia, says, “What we’re seeing from an underwriting perspective is that the complexity of machinery and systems now requires a different level of operator capability.
10 A NIBA Brokers’ Guide: to farming the future
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