Farm Risk Management Applied to Sustainability of the Food Supply Chain: A Case Study of Sustainability Risks in Dairy Farming

Abstract

This chapter applies corporate process and risk analysis to maintainingthe sustainability of the food supply chain. Primary food producers arefacing increasing demands and risks. Simple tools for managing the foodsupply chain and self-assessment techniques are needed to follow therequirements of the new Food Act in Finland and the European Union. Theidentification and evaluation of different types of risks on farms, suchas financial, environmental or social risks, can give useful informationfor the management of the dairy and other food supply chains. Riskanalysis is used to evaluate sustainability issues in the dairy farmmilking process. The views of farm managers on sustainability risks inthe milking process are compared against the demands of the dairy supplychain using force field analysis. This analysis highlights those factorsand tasks that are critical to the economic, environmental and socialsustainability of the dairy supply process. Process risk analysis toolscan be seen as an example of a sustainability risk accounting systemapplied in small firm management.