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...

The first 50 years of the Federal crop insurance program were marked by low enrollment levels. To boost program participation, legislation in 1994 and 2000 increased premium subsidies. In the years since, the jump in enrollment coupled with high commodity prices caused significant increases in...

Weather derivatives are designed to hedge the volumetric risk associated with unfavourable weather. They have the ability to hedge weather related volume or yield risk for the agricultural sector, although there are still many hurdles to their widespread implementation in Australian agriculture....