Economic evaluations of the benefits of integrated weed management often only consider the benefits of management in the crop phase, and ignore the impact of rotational options. In particular, non-crop phases such as annual and perennial pasture phases can have a substantial impact upon weed...

Approximately 40% of the apple orchard area on the Granite Belt in Queensland is covered with nets to protect the crop from hail damage. The effects of hail netting on apple orchard microclimate, productivity and tree growth have been measured over many seasons; however, limited work has been...

Environmental, social, and economic attributes are important for the sustainability of a farming system. Resilience is also important, yet has seldom been directly considered in evaluations of economic sustainability. In economic terms, resilience has to do with the capacity of the farm business...

Mallee farmers minimize downside risk in dry seasons by applying low rates of nitrogen (N) fertiliser to their cereal crops. The opportunity to respond to and capitalize on the better years is further limited as most inputs are applied upfront at sowing. We used an economic-risk decision model...

This paper examines the Federal quarantine established by USDA in 1996 to prevent the spread of Karnal bunt, a minor disease of wheat. During the early stages of its regulatory strategy, USDA made extensive use of probabilistic risk assessments to determine the efficacy of various quarantine...

The social and environmental benefits of establishing E. globulus plantations in south west Australia on previously cleared farmland are reviewed. Due to their sensitivity to drought, we study how this risk may affect the return on plantation investments. Productivity reductions of up to 40% in...