Leonard, BrianFarrell, MauraMahon, MarieKinsella, AnneO'Donoghue, Cathal2021-02-172021-02-172020-04B Leonard, M Farrell, M Mahon, A Kinsella, C O'Donoghue, Risky (farm) business: Perceptions of economic risk in farm succession and inheritance, Journal of Rural Studies, 2020, 75,57-69. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.12.007http://hdl.handle.net/11019/2383peer-reviewedHighlights • Generational renewal is high on the political agenda for agriculture, with young farmers linked to positive outcomes. • There are limited policy incentives for older farmers to consider engaging in the farm succession and inheritance process. • Farmers perceive risks and uncertainties regarding the transfer process, and thus avoid handing over to their successors. • Taxation, retirement income, long term care cost, and marital breakdown are motivations for farmers to retain ownership. • Financial incentives related to generational renewal must aim to alleviate the level of risk perceived by farmers.en© 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Internationalhttps://www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/economic riskfarm successioninheritanceArticlehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.12.007