Attitude of winegrowers towards cover crops in vineyardsRebekka Schütte and Holger Bergmann

Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural DevelopmentFaculty of Agricultural Sciences, Georg-August University of Göttingen

Approach

•Viniculture is economically important and is characterized by relatively high profits per hectare

•It is an intensive cultivation system and affects the environment significantly

•Winegrowers play a key role in supporting biodiversity

Methods

•Survey the biodiversity status of vineyards in four European countries: Austria, France, Romania and Spain

•Compare different inter-row management methods: bare soil, permanent and temporary cover crops as well as spontaneous vegetation

•Analyse the ecological and economic influence of cover crops

Goals

•Understand the interactions between different biodiversity indicators and ecosystem services

•Gain insight about the trade-offs between biodiversity and the competitiveness of vintners

•Give recommendations to winegrowers and politicians based on project results

VineDivers: A European project

CONTACT Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Platz der Göttinger Sieben 5, 37073 Göttingen, rschuet2@gwdg.de

The authors are grateful for the financial support through the 2013/14 BiodivERsA/FACCE-JPI joint call.

Cover crops have benefits for the environment but are a risk for winegrowers

Risks•Plants e.g. stinging nettle can serve as a host

for parasites•Yield and quality loses in dry regions or

unusual dry years•Could have negative economic implications

Benefits•Prevent erosion•Positive for soil biota and soil aggregate

stability•Source for organic matter•Habitat for pollinators•Could enhance biological pest control•Increasing aesthetic value•Regulation of growth and flavour in humid

regions

Implemented methods:

We use a participatory approach based on grounded theory and conduct homogeneousFocus groups with winegrowers

Hence our research question is:

What are the experiences of winegrowers with cover crops and how is their attitude towards environmental friendly management methods?

•All participants use cover crops in the inter-rows but with different intensities and are very interested in the subject•The differences are based on their experiences in the past

•According to the participants bare soil management is also a result of tradition and old habits

•Some participants use herbicides for weeding under the vines•This is due to a lack of finance for labour and machinery

•Labour is a limiting factor•Unlike in the past their have to invest into marketing in addition to

their work in the field and cellar•Winegrowers are not heavily affected by the CAP and would like to keep

it that way•Future prospects: Passion for the job keeps them going but inheriting a

family business is difficult these days

France: Coteaux du Layon and

Anjou, Angers

•Only a few participants use cover crops and none has permanent vegetation•If cover crops are used it is mostly barley

•Most say it is too dry to use cover crops and some did not think about the possibility of having cover crops at all•They discussed about the risk of pests due to cover crops•Nevertheless the participants were really interested in the subject

and asked the Winegrower who already uses cover crops about his experiences

•The environmental benefits of cover crops were not a main topic•The participants face problems in marketing their wine•In their opinion winegrowers especially in this region are unimportant

for politicians and the CAP

Spain: Montilla-Moriles, Cordoba

First results: Winegrowers are open to the use of cover crops

Method: Conducting focus groups with winegrowers

Outlook: Results will be extended with focus groups from Austria as well as Romania and combined with a competitive analysis

•Focus groups are a widely used qualitative method in social sciences and are time and resource efficient

•Opportunity to involve stakeholders in the research project•Allows participants to interact with each other•Extremely helpful for studying opinions, experiences and concerns of participants•Deliver explanatory support for complementary methods

Advantage

•Homogeneous group with winegrowers•Participants are animated to discuss with each other and are encouraged to speak

their mind freely•A comfortable atmosphere should be generated•A competent moderator contributes in a great part to a successful group•The moderator has a questioning route which gives guidance through the discussion•The discussions were recorded as well as protocolled

Setting

•Opening question: Usual management practices in their vineyards•Key questions: Viniculture in the respective region and consequences of the Common

agricultural policy (CAP)•Ending questions: Future prospects for their business and expectations from the CAP

Discussed topics

Use of cover crops varies strongly; transregional and within regions.Winegrowers are interested in the use of cover crops but this and the disuse of herbicides is not their priority concern as there is a bigger risk in the ban of products against mildew and esca (trunk disease). Furthermore, marketing of their products is a huge issue. In this case cover crops could help to improve the image especially in direct sales.

Disuse of cover crops seems to be based on a combination of traditional habits, a knowledge deficit as well as risk aversion. Besides, even if winegrowers want to use cover crops their economic situation can restrain them from the realization.Nevertheless, the participants have positive prospects for their businesses but are aware of the challenges.

Winegrowers are open for new management methods if the ecological and economic advantages are communicated clearly.

Conclusion