Index Insurance, Production Practices, and Probabilistic Climate Forecasts

The failure of the development of commercially viable traditional crop insurance products and innovations in financial markers has fed a renewed interest in the search for alternatives to help producers in developing countries manage their risk exposure. Salient among these is the proposal of several index insurance schemes against weather events. Among the basic tenets are that the presence of index insurance allows producers to intensify their operations and reduce the risks of default and hence may induce creditors to offer loans at affordable rates. The two factors combined are touted as key to help producers in developing countries escape poverty traps. Improvements in seasonal climate forecasts create challenges for the design and effective functioning of the insurance against climate risks. However, very little is known about potential synergies or conflicting impacts of these two institutions, and the interactions between them and input management decisions by producers. We find that insurance and forecast may have synergistic or conflicting effects on input decisions. In the presence of (state contingent) actuarially fair insurance, producers may prefer the forecast information not to be available, especially if the management options available do not result in sufficient changes in profitability. Perhaps surprisingly, we find that forecast information may induce producers to increase the amount of insurance purchased.Climate forecast, Index insurance, Input Decisions, Risk Management, Weather risks, Risk and Uncertainty,

TB59: Soil Characteristics of Nesting Sites of Solitary Bees Associated with the Low-Bush Blueberry in Maine

During the course of ecological studies of certain native bees which pollinate the low-bush blueberry in Maine, it was noted that several species chose particular areas in which to construct their nests. It is the object of this bulletin to describe the characteristics of these chosen sites and to compare them to areas that are not conducive to nesting. This study was carried out in Deblois, Washington County, on areas known as blueberry-barrens. The predominant soil in the area is Colton gravelly sandy loam.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1132/thumbnail.jp

Is the Endangered Species Act Endangering Species?

We develop theory and present a suite of theoretically consistent empirical measures to explore the extent to which market intervention inadvertently alters resource allocation in a sequentialmove principal/agent game. We showcase our approach empirically by exploring the extent to which the U.S. Endangered Species Act has altered land development patterns. We report evidence indicating significant acceleration of development directly after each of several events deemed likely to raise fears among owners of habitat land. Our preferred estimate suggests an overall acceleration of land development by roughly one year. We also find from complementary hedonic regression models that habitat parcels declined in value when the habitat map was published, which is consistent with our estimates of the degree of preemption. These results have clear implications for policymakers, who continue to discuss alternative regulatory frameworks for species preservation. More generally, our modeling strategies can be widely applied -- from any particular economic environment that has a sequential-move nature to the narrower case of the political economy of regulation.

TB112: Chemical Control of the Spruce Budmoth, Zeiraphera canadensis Mut. And Free. (Lepidoptera: Olethreuthidae) on White Spruce in Maine

The principle objectives of the current study were to determine through preliminary qualitative surveys, the distribution, abundance, and species composition of budmoth in Maine; and to gain satisfactory control of the budmoth through the proper timing of insecticides.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1072/thumbnail.jp

TB124: Chemical Control of Balsam Twig Aphid, Midarus abietinus Koch (Homoptera: Aphididae)

This study was initiated to provide Christmas tree growers with a selection of insecticides capable of effective control of balsam twig aphid (Mindarus abietinus Koch) on balsam fir. Low rates of active ingredients were tested to assure minimal environmental impact and reduced chemical costshttps://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1060/thumbnail.jp

TB84: Controlling the Saratoga Spittlebug in Young Red Pine Plantations by Removal of Alternate Hosts

The Saratoga spittlebug, Aphrophora saratogensis (Fitch), is a major pest of young red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait. ) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb. ) plantations in the Lake States, Ontario, and more recently in the Northeast. Although insecticides are successful in controlling the Saratoga spittlebug, the biology of the insect raises the possibility of an alternative method of control. The spittlebug requires an alternate host to complete its nymphal development. The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using herbicides to control nymphal host plants of the spittlebug in red pine plantations.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1113/thumbnail.jp

TB129: Chemical Control of Balsam Gall Midge Paradiplosis tumifex Gagne (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)

This study was undertaken to test new insecticides for control of the balsam gall midge and to determine effectiveness of later insecticide application in order to expand the effective period for control.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1065/thumbnail.jp

TB151: The Balsam Gall Midge--An Economic Pest of Balsam Fir Christmas Trees

This technical bulletin summarizes all previous published research on the balsam gall midge. Also included are new data on the effect of late bud burst on midge oviposition and the degree of population regulation of the gallmaker by its inquiline.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1051/thumbnail.jp

TB110: The Biology and Ecology of Dioryctria resinosella Mutuura (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) on Young Red Pine in Maine

The purpose of this research was to study the life cycle and behavior, mortality factors of Dioryctria resinosella and to evaluate its impact on red pine plantations in Maine and rear the insect in the laboratory.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1094/thumbnail.jp