Farmer Brown Grows Wheat on His Farm in Kansas, and the Weather

Essay

Farmer Brown grows wheat on his farm in Kansas, and the weather during the growing season makes this a risky venture. Over the many years that he has been in business, he has learned that rainfall patterns can be categorized as highly productive (HP) with a probability of .2, moderately productive (MP) with a probability of .6, and not productive at all (NP) with a probability of .2. With these various rainfall patterns, he has also learned that the inflation adjusted yields are $25,000 with NP weather, $10,000 with MP weather, and $50,000 with HP weather. Calculate the expected yield from growing wheat on Farmer Brown's farm. What can be learned about Brown's attitude toward risk from this problem? Explain.