Presenters from Custom Ag Solutions (CAS) attended four Massachusetts high schools to present CAS' Risk and Risk Management training simulation. Directing the presentation to horticulture and agriculture-focused students, CAS presenters introduced attendees to basic risk management principles and crop insurance programs offered to Massachusetts producers.

To illustrate the challenges of managing risk and the role of Federal Crop Insurance Programs in agricultural risk management, attendees participated in an interactive learning simulation that illustrated uncertainty and risk in a simulated Massachusetts horticulture operation. The outcomes of the game varied by student depending on uncontrollable chance and the risks chosen by a given student over a simulated six-year period. Attending producers’ agricultural experience and interests centered on landscape plant production and greenhouse management.