Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/513570
28 WINES&VINES June 2015 Vineyard View A re there enough viticulture and enology research dollars available for the U.S. wine industry to remain competitive in the world market? Most viticulture re- searchers I speak to say "no." Having been a re- searcher myself many years ago, it seems part of human nature to feel there is never enough re- search money available. That said, let's try and answer this question objectively by taking a look at what is currently available compared to other important specialty crops. It is probably best to begin by asking the ques- tion: Does research provide a return on investment (ROI)? Dr. Julian Alston, a professor of agriculture and resource economics at the University of Cali- fornia, Davis, has devoted considerable time and effort to this topic. While there haven't been recent studies devoted to the ROI of viticulture or enology research, Alston says significant work has been done to estimate the ROI of agriculture research in general. A review paper Alston and others published on the topic in 2009 estimated a range in ROI of 41% to 56%, depending on the number of years lag from the time the research was published to when the ROI is realized, with the higher rates of return being short term (zero to 10 years) and the lower rates being long term (30 or more years). Furthermore, the average benefit-cost ratio was 32% for U.S. research and development. Based on this review, I think it is safe to conclude that viticulture and enology research provide a high return on investment, provided a good extension program is available to trans- fer research to vineyards and winer- ies. Without the extension program, the best research in the world can- not realize its true value, but that is a discussion for another day. So, how much money is available for enology and viticulture research in the United States? The answer to this question is spread between many locations and forms around the country, mainly at the state level. (I will restrict this discussion to money dedicated strictly to viticulture and enol- ogy research, not competitive grant programs such as the USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative, which is avail- able to other specialty crop scientists as well.) A few years ago Jean-Mari Peltier, executive director of the National Grape and Wine Initiative (NGWI), developed a very nice summary of the money avail- able across the United States for wine industry research. NGWI is an industry-driven partnership with academic and government representatives designed to focus emphasis on research and exten- sion as a means to strengthen the competitiveness of America's grape and grape product industries. Even though the numbers are for 2010-11, I feel they are adequate for this discussion. At that time, approximately $8 million was available through a mixture of 25 different state agencies, marketing orders or foundations. Half of this amount origi- nated from nine California entities. Eight-million-plus dollars available for U.S. research in viticulture and enology seems like a pretty significant amount of money in any given year. How does it compare to research money avail- able for other specialty crops? Almond is a good crop for comparison because, at the mo- ment, it is very similar to grapes in farm gate value (value of the product upon leaving the farm). In 2013 the farm gate value of almonds was $5.8 billion, and for grapes it was $5.6 billion. The Al- mond Board of California, a federal mar- keting order, currently spends about $4.8 million dollars per year on research on production, nutrition, the environment and food safety. The grape industry in California is currently spending about $3.9 million on research, with funds coming from the American Vineyard Foundation, Califor- nia Table Grape Commis- sion, Pierce's Disease/ n CLIFF OHMART Is Enough Money Available for Viticulture Research? Most researchers I talk to agree that public funding of research is not going to provide enough funds for the wine industry in the United States to remain competitive.