In this presentation, Professor Julian Alston and Dr. Olena Sambucci from UC Davis will give an overview of the basic economics of grape varietal innovations and how those methods and ideas are being used in the Trait Economics element of VitisGen2. This will include (1) a general overview of how economists approach the issue of valuing the past and prospective returns to investments in developing new crop varieties, (2) some discussion of the special features of perennial crops and grapes in this context, (3) some illustrative examples with results from work they have completed already, on pest and disease resistance traits, and (4) an overview of new work the Trait Economics team has underway for VitisGen2, focusing on consumer and producer demand for new table grape varieties.

Julian Alston is a distinguished professor in the department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Davis. His research is primarily focused on the implications of government policies for the agricultural sector, and the economics of incorporating traits into new grape varieties. He also teaches courses on agricultural policy and market analysis.

Olena Sambucci is postdoctoral scholar in the department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Davis. Her work has focused on the use of forecasting tools to mitigate production risk from disease in vineyards. Particularly, her work with VitisGen involves estimating the economic value of powdery mildew resistance.

Please email rjw256@cornell.edu with any questions.

Register for the upcoming webinar: https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SbJgjckHSQK7Iugx2wFPkw