Pesticide Use and Risk Aversion in the French Wine Sector

Abstract

This paper studies the risk attitudes of winegrowers in France. In French viticulture, most of the production is done under an appellation regime that constrains maximum authorized yields. We consider a trans-log cost function under the constraint of this maximum yield and estimate winegrowers' attitudes to risk. Our estimates are based on the European Farm Accountancy Data Network database (2005–2014) and data from the French National Institute of Origin and Quality. We find that winegrowers are risk averse. For the majority of winegrowers, risk aversion is declining with expected profit. In the Champagne region, however, where expected profits are far higher than in the other regions, we observe the reverse relation: winegrowers become more risk averse as expected profits rise. (JEL Classifications: C13, C33, O33, Q16).

External shocks, agent interactions, and endogenous feedbacks — Investigating system resilience with a stylized land use model

“…Though in the model profit-maximization was assumed for individual decision-making, in reality farmers can be risk averse (Aka et al, 2018) and opt for cost minimization (Zereyesus & Featherstone, 2017), for example through optimized crop allocation.…”

Behavioral manipulation of Drosophila suzukii for pest control: high attraction to yeast enhances insecticide efficacy when applied on leaves

“…Viticulture is characterized by intensive pesticide use 53,54 . With focus on grapevine, we hypothesized that H. uvarum in combination with insecticides will induce D. suzukii odor‐driven attraction when applied on grapevine leaves and improve insecticide efficacy by increasing fly mortality and reducing fruit infestation.…”

“…[50][51][52] Viticulture is characterized by intensive pesticide use. 53,54 With focus on grapevine, we hypothesized that H. uvarum in combination with insecticides will induce D. suzukii odor-driven attraction when applied on grapevine leaves and improve insecticide efficacy by increasing fly mortality and reducing fruit infestation. Thus, we assayed the attraction of D. suzukii to H. uvarum applied on grapevine leaves in comparison to untreated leaves and grape berries.…”

Red, white and green: environmental communication on wine bottle labels from New York's Hudson River Region

“…Competitive wine production across the United States has challenged New York winemakers to secure a place in the domestic market in order to support the long-term viability of the local economy (Yue, 2019). As businesses of agriculture become increasingly disrupted by the changing natural environment and consumer demand for sustainable products grows, vintners may distinguish themselves through the production and promotion of strategic initiatives on wine bottle labels (Aka et al, 2018;Asimov, 2019b;Edick and Willcox, 2017;Peterson et al, 2019;Sweitzer-Lamme, 2019). Fueled by the distinct fields of green marketing and environmental communication, this research investigates the promotion of sustainable practices on wine bottle labels.…”