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Agricultural economics 23.09.24

Milk production is the most important production branch of Swiss agriculture. The liberalised cheese trade with the EU requires competitive dairy farms. Despite this, Swiss farms produce milk in a less economically viable way than comparable EU farms.

Agricultural economics 19.09.24

Product and quality differentiation in Swiss cheese markets enables higher and more stable raw milk prices. Protected Geographical Indications (GIs) such as the Swiss AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée), could further enhance milk prices, although their effectiveness depends on the strength of the GI label.

Agroscope, ETH Zurich

Agricultural economics 18.09.24

Does pesticide reduction reduce profitability and increase working time? Quite the reverse – Agroscope researchers showed that going pesticide-free can be an attractive proposition.

Agricultural economics 14.08.24

Global wine sales have been falling for several years and the Swiss market has not been bucking this trend. Nevertheless, the growing consumption of sparkling wines in Switzerland and the interest in local products are creating new prospects for leveraging wine production.

Agroscope, Schweizerisches Observatorium für den Weinmarkt OSMV, Canton de Vaud

Agricultural economics 13.08.24

The heterogeneity of summer farms in the Swiss Alps must be take into account in order to develop effective policy measures. This should lead to improved conservation of the ecological and economic functions of alpine meadows.

Agricultural economics 24.06.24

An online survey shows that the Swiss population views all agricultural policy goals as important. Although animal welfare and farmers' incomes are the top priorities everywhere, the language regions show differences in their assessment of the goals.

Agroscope, ETH Zurich

Agricultural economics 20.06.24

A study conducted across five European countries has identified the attributes that are important to consumers buying meat and dairy products. The researchers also investigated whether sustainability labels were perceived as helpful.

Agricultural economics 16.05.24

The family farm is the backbone of the Swiss agricultural sector. A recent study by Agroscope investigates the extent to which digitalisation has shifted the balance in the institutional structure of farming.

Agricultural economics 13.05.24

Owing to its low degree of self-sufficiency, Switzerland is highly dependent on food imports. Because of this, it is important to assess its vulnerability in terms of supply security of these key imported goods.

Agroscope, FiBL

Agricultural economics 25.03.24

Gazzarin Ch., Bütler A.

Beef can be produced in various ways. Intensive fattening is more productive and extensive organic pasture fattening achieves higher prices – but which is more profitable? Agroscope compared the two production systems to learn the answer.

Agricultural economics 12.03.24

Ammann J., Mack G., Irek J., Finger R., El Benni N.

Agroscope researchers conducted an online survey to investigate the attitudes of Swiss consumers to agricultural policy goals in all three language regions. The results should help better shape agricultural policy.

Agroscope, ETH Zurich

Agricultural economics 26.02.24

Widmer J., Christ B., Grenz J., Norgrove L.

Agrivoltaics combines energy generation and agricultural production on the same land. Although this system is eliciting increasing interest, its success depends on numerous factors and the most compatible crops have yet to be identified.

Agroscope, BFH-HAFL

Agricultural economics 01.02.24

Saleh R., Ehlers M.

How do farmers experience social sustainability on their farms? As an Agroscope study shows, this depends on farmers’ identities and farm types.

Agricultural economics 04.01.24

Tonini A., Decreux Y.

Cheese stands out as one of the main Swiss agricultural trade offensive interests. Outside the EU, the USA are an important export destination. The CAPRI model allows to assess the impact of a free trade agreement for cheese between the USA and CH.

Agricultural economics 24.11.23

Tarruella M., Huber R., Mack G., El Benni N., Finger R.

Policies for reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions are both more effective and more efficient when set at regional rather than individual-farm level. This approach can help us achieve climate targets in a more cost-efficient manner.

Agroscope, ETH Zurich

Agricultural economics 03.10.23

Ritzel C., von Ow A.

Global food availability is expected to remain stable in the medium term. Food security challenges in Switzerland include the decline in agricultural land area per capita, higher incidence of extreme weather events and increased pressure from pests.

Agricultural economics 27.09.23

Wang Y., Schaub S., Wuepper D., Finger R

Different cultural backgrounds lead to different uptake of biodiversity agri-environmental schemes at the inner-Swiss French-German language border. Economic policy incentives could mitigate culture-driven behavioral differences.

Agroscope, ETH Zurich

Agricultural economics 12.09.23

Fiankor D.-D. D., Lartey A., Ritzel C.

The agricultural sector as an aggregate proved resilient to the COVID-19 shock. But how did it impact agribusiness firms within the sector? Using the Swiss case, we provide the first set of evidence on how agri-food importing firms survived the pandemic economically.

Agroscope, University College London, UK

Agricultural economics 10.08.23

El Benni N, Grovermann Ch., Finger R.

Agricultural economics research uses a multitude of methods and approaches to assess existing and new policy measures. This is the basis for agricultural policy that demonstrably makes a difference, i.e. is evidence-based.

Agroscope, FiBL, ETH Zurich

Agricultural economics 30.06.23

Achermann G., Helfenstein J., Speranza C.I., Herzog F.

Agroscope studied the changes in the agricultural sector over the past twenty years in three Swiss regions and compared them with the visions of three associations: Avenir Suisse, the Schweizer Bauernverband and Landwirtschaft mit Zukunft.

Agroscope, Wageningen University, University of Bern

Agricultural economics 09.05.23

El Benni N., Schmid D.

According to the international literature, direct payments influence the decision of farm managers to pursue off-farm employment. An Agroscope study looked into what this meant in the Swiss context.

Food 20.04.23

Mann S., Loginova D.

Agroscope researchers analysed the dietary trends of the different generations in Switzerland. The findings help with the preparation of more-accurate dietary forecasts.

Agricultural economics 02.03.23

Pedolin D., Jan P., Roesch A., Six J., Nemecek T.

Do farmers who produce in environmentally friendly ways earn less income? As an Agroscope study shows, this needs not be the case, and farmers can actually generate more revenue by protecting the environment.

Agroscope, ETH Zurich

Plant production 13.02.23

Clémence S., Zorn A.

Oats, triticale, hull-less barley, lupin, faba beans and buckwheat are rarely cultivated. The EU project CROPDIVA intends to change that. Agroscope analyses the value chains of four of these crops in order to promote their cultivation and processing.

Agricultural economics 07.02.23

Heitkämper K., Reissig L., Glück S., Mann S.

A hoeing and spot-spraying device enables huge savings in the use of plant protection products. Although costs are higher than for conventional plant protection devices, motivated farm managers give this innovative technology genuine prospects for the future.

Agricultural economics 02.02.23

Ritzel C., Hoop D., Portmann M., Wallner A. und Mack G.

Thanks to their unique landscapes, the 15 regional nature parks, the majority of which are located in the (pre-)Alps and in the Jura Arc, feature as tourist attractions. But do the parks also provide economic value-added for local agriculture?

Agricultural economics 16.01.23

To balance their nutrient cycles, Swiss farms export surplus farmyard manure to farms with free uptake capacities or to composting and anaerobic digestion facilities. Between 2015 and 2020 the volumes of organic manure and recycled fertilisers transported rose significantly, with a consequent increase in transport costs.

Agricultural economics 18.11.22

Zimmert F., Zorn A.

Employment in the agricultural sector is declining in many European countries, especially in livestock farming. Direct payments can counter this trend and lead to the employment of more – especially female – family members on the farm.

Agricultural economics 19.09.22

Ritzel C., Arbenz A., von Ow A.

Despite the current challenges of e.g. the war in Ukraine and climate change, the Swiss food sector is relatively resilient. This is the conclusion reached by Agroscope’s report on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office for National Economic Supply.

Agricultural economics 28.06.22

Ammann J., Ritzel C., El Benni N.

The pandemic has influenced not only our everyday life but also our behaviour. Agroscope looked at which population groups and behaviours experienced or underwent particularly significant changes, and what this means for our health.