Scott Somerville

Scott Somerville

PhD Candidate in Agricultural and Resource Economics, UC Davis

Publications

Economics of Navel Orangeworm Management in Almond and Pistachio Orchards

Published in ARE Update, 2023

Navel Orangeworm (NOW) infestations damage tree nuts, reduce grower revenue, require costly management practices to control, and threaten food safety and trade. We estimate that from 2018 through 2021, almond and pistachio growers spent an average of \$393 and \$262 per bearing acre, respectively, on winter sanitation and pesticide sprays targeting NOW. These costs are equivalent to 7.8% of almond and 3.7% of pistachio revenues.

Recommended citation: Somerville, Scott and Brittney K. Goodrich. 2023. "Economics of Navel Orangeworm Management in Almond and Pistachio Orchards." ARE Update 27(2): 5–8. University of California Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics. https://s.giannini.ucop.edu/uploads/pub/2023/12/21/v27n2_2.pdf

Drought Impacts on California Farm Revenue and Prices

Published in ARE Update, 2021

Droughts in California reduce the availability of irrigation water, raise costs, and have dire consequences for some farms. However, as with earlier droughts, the 2020–2021 drought is having only small impacts on farm revenues and prices. Farm responses to drought generally minimize the drought’s overall impacts and protect consumers from severe food price increases.

Recommended citation: Sumner, Daniel A., Elizabeth A. Fraysse, Scott Somerville, and Josué Medellín-Azuara. 2021. “Drought Impacts on California Farm Revenue and Prices.” ARE Update 25(1): 10–12. University of California Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics https://s.giannini.ucop.edu/uploads/pub/2021/10/29/v25n1_4.pdf

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Western Dairy Industry

Published in Western Economics Forum, 2020

Western dairy accounts for 46% of U.S. milk production and was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in complex ways. The pandemic led to large fluctuations in U.S. prices of milk and dairy products. High prices during the summer made up for steep declines in the spring. Western milk production was up over 2019. Farm milk receipts were about the same as in 2019, and about 12% higher than in 2018. However, due to large government payments, 2020 was a relatively high net income year for the Western dairy industry, despite the variability and stresses caused by the pandemic.

Recommended citation: Sumner, Daniel A., Tristan M. Hanon, and Scott Somerville. 2021. “Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Western Dairy Industry.” Western Economics Forum 19(1):33-50. https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/311305/

By-Product Use in California Dairy Feed Has Vital Sustainability Implications

Published in ARE Update, 2020

Milk cow feed rations in California include a huge variety of byproduct feeds that contribute a substantial share of nutrition. Byproduct use helps moderate feed costs, provides important income to by-product suppliers, frees Central Valley crop farm resources (land and water) for other uses, and reduces environmental consequences of waste.

Recommended citation: Somerville, Scott, Daniel A. Sumner, James Fadel, Ziyang Fu, Jarrett D. Hart, and Jennifer Heguy. “By-Product Use in California Dairy Feed Has Vital Sustainability Implications.“ARE Update 24(2) (2020): 5–8. University of California Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics http://academicpages.github.io/files/paper1.pdf

The Economics of REDD Through an Incidence of Burdens and Benefits Lens

Published in International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, 2019

Forests in lower-income countries provide a global public good, carbon sequestration. REDD, “reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation” is a performance-based payment designed to align private incentives at the country level with the socially optimal level of forest loss. This review article focuses on the distributional implications of REDD, specifically on whom the burdens and benefits fall.

Recommended citation: Elizabeth J. Z. Robinson, Scott Somerville and Heidi J. Albers (2019), "The Economics of REDD through an Incidence of Burdens and Benefits Lens." International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, 13(1-2): 165-202 https://www.nowpublishers.com/article/Details/IRERE-0108