Around the globe, farming co-operatives are being recognised as the best structure to cope with the vagaries of agricultural production. The volatility of the global currency and commodity markets, the potential unravelling of the Common Agricultural Policy, relationships with suppliers and customers as well as other naturally occurring risks such as flooding and animal welfare all pose a threat to agricultural businesses to a lesser or larger extent. A recent conference in the UK on 'Financial Risk Management and Farmer Co-operatives' addressed the potential for greater use by farmers of appropriate risk management financial instruments to hedge against currency movements and the wider risks unique to farming. http://www.newsector.co.uk/articles/62farmer.htm