Abstract
A common practice in Australian vineyards is to manage under-vine weeds with approved herbicides applied one or more times each year. A current project is testing the potentials in a range of pasture species and cereal straw as under-vine mulches compared with herbicides for weed control. Grass and legume pasture species in under-vine trials in 2015-16 have shown promising results at some sites, with grape yields in some cases exceeding those of the herbicide control plots.
Weeds compete with vines for water and nutrients and may provide a ‘green bridge’ between seasons, hosting pests and pathogens below the vines. Among the problems with repeated use of herbicides is the evolution of resistant populations of weeds, and their spread within the vineyard and to neighbouring properties and public lands.
This study subtracts the costs of typical herbicide regimes and those of alternative mulches and other operational vineyard costs from the values of their respective grape yields, as baseline prices and yields vary over time, to define the distribution of Gross Margins for each treatment. Further subtracting the manager’s living costs, annual overheads, interest and taxes for random 10-year samples of simulated yields and prices allows estimation of long-term distributions of decadal cash balances for each under-vine treatment. Showing the probabilities of vineyard financial viability, these are private financial risk profiles for each treatment, differing by location. Juxtaposing these with the value of reduced risk of herbicide-resistant weed seed spreading beyond the vineyard permits analysis in a Public-Private Benefit Framework.
Weeds compete with vines for water and nutrients and may provide a ‘green bridge’ between seasons, hosting pests and pathogens below the vines. Among the problems with repeated use of herbicides is the evolution of resistant populations of weeds, and their spread within the vineyard and to neighbouring properties and public lands.
This study subtracts the costs of typical herbicide regimes and those of alternative mulches and other operational vineyard costs from the values of their respective grape yields, as baseline prices and yields vary over time, to define the distribution of Gross Margins for each treatment. Further subtracting the manager’s living costs, annual overheads, interest and taxes for random 10-year samples of simulated yields and prices allows estimation of long-term distributions of decadal cash balances for each under-vine treatment. Showing the probabilities of vineyard financial viability, these are private financial risk profiles for each treatment, differing by location. Juxtaposing these with the value of reduced risk of herbicide-resistant weed seed spreading beyond the vineyard permits analysis in a Public-Private Benefit Framework.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 61st AARES Annual Conference |
| Place of Publication | Australia |
| Publisher | Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES) |
| Pages | 1-39 |
| Number of pages | 39 |
| Publication status | Published - 28 Mar 2017 |
| Event | 61st Annual Conference of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES 2017) - Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia Duration: 07 Feb 2017 → 10 Feb 2017 https://www.aares.org.au/iMIS_Prod/AARES2016/Event/2017AC/AARES_2017_Annual_Conference_Event_Page.aspx (Conference website) https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/search?ln=en&cc=432 (Conference proceedings) |
Publication series
| Name | AgEcon Search website at http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/ University of Minnesota, 1994 Buford Ave St. Paul MN 55108-6040, USA |
|---|
Conference
| Conference | 61st Annual Conference of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES 2017) |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| City | Brisbane |
| Period | 07/02/17 → 10/02/17 |
| Other | Each year, AARES organises an annual conference which is normally held in February. The aim of these events is to promote the profession of agricultural and resource economics in Australia and other countries, and to foster – in all sections of the economy – interest in and understanding of the economic issues affecting primary industries, resources and the environment. |
| Internet address |
|
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Straw and living mulches compared with herbicide for under-vine weed control in a Public-Private Benefit Framework'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Cite this
Nordblom, T., Penfold, C., Weckert, M., & Norton, M. (2017). Straw and living mulches compared with herbicide for under-vine weed control in a Public-Private Benefit Framework. In Proceedings of the 61st AARES Annual Conference (pp. 1-39). (AgEcon Search website at http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/ University of Minnesota, 1994 Buford Ave St. Paul MN 55108-6040, USA). Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES). http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/258677/files/Nordblom%2C%20T%20-%20paper.pdf