Risk can be thought of as the chance of an event turning out in a way that makes you worse off.

However, not everyone views the same set of circumstances as being equally risky. Some folks are naturally more optimistic, while others it seems are always looking for the worst possible outcome to happen. Everyone must decide for themselves what levels of risk they are comfortable living with. 

Ideally, in the farm family setting, this would include all family members discussing their views of risk and actively engaged in the decision making process of the operation.