Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / John Crespi / Hybrid seed corn pricing has increased significantly over the past six or seven years and continues to be a topic of conversation amongst farmers. This issue is also an area of concern for Monsanto. The hybrid corn pricing team at Monsanto is concerned that they price current products at a point to maximize profits while continuing to grow market share. The key is to price at a point that captures all the value of the differentiated products Monsanto offers. The objective for this study is to estimate a demand model for the hybrid seed corn industry. The demand model will allow us to look at many different aspects of the hybrid seed corn industry and also evaluate the own-price and cross-price elasticities. The own-price elasticity is especially important because it will be used to determine if current pricing is revenue or profit-maximizing. A hedonic pricing model was also estimated in this study to complement the demand model. It is important for Monsanto to understand what attributes or traits are significant in pricing and demand.

The present study attempts to fill a gap in the literature by exploring the physical and economic forces that influence the dynamic path of hybrid seed pricing for a broad acre crop over time. Of the physical and economic forces influencing the dynamic path of hybrid development, the sequential and cumulative nature of crop development is particularly discussed. Specifically, the canola hybrid seed industry in Canada is studied. This study will have particularly important implications for industries that are considering stronger intellectual property rights inside and outside Canada. The model presented in Chapter 2 makes a significant contribution to the “product variety” literature. While Chamberlinian models are confined to one representative consumer and location models are not very helpful in analysis of more than two characteristics, the model developed in Chapter 2 incorporates differentiated buyers and multiple characteristics. Schumpeter’s temporary market power can be derived from new characteristics embodied in old products. Results show that more progressive industries are likely to have a smaller equilibrium number of firms and shorter product cycles, ceteris paribus. Chapter 3 endogenizes rate of yield potential growth as a function of firms’ initial investment. Results show that greater investment productivity results in fewer varieties in the market, shorter product cycles, higher prices, higher profit levels, lower optimal investment, and higher consolidation. Also, it is shown that if increased differentiation creates enough space in the market for a new entrant, then entry of a new rival will increase competition and may result in a decrease in the incumbents’ profit. Chapter 4 uses data from Canadian canola industry to empirically test some of the propositions discussed in Chapter 2. Results confirm that as a variety becomes more specific its market share decreases. It is also shown that degree of specificity is a proper measure of adaptability for seed varieties as it provides high explanatory power in the regression models and also can be used to make direct economic interpretation. Chapter 5 presents a conclusion, policy implications, and potential approaches for future research.

Les insectes contribuent à la pollinisation de 70% des espèces cultivées aujourd’hui à travers le monde. Avec l’intensification de l’agriculture au début du XXème siècle, les agriculteurs se sont mis à introduire des colonies d’abeilles mellifères dans leurs cultures entomophiles pour assurer le service de pollinisation. Avec la reconnaissance croissante du rôle majeur joué par les insectes sauvages dans la pollinisation des cultures, le concept de pollinisation intégrée des cultures a récemment vu le jour, encourageant à combiner insectes pollinisateurs introduits et sauvages en adaptant les pratiques agricoles pour assurer une pollinisation durable des cultures. Mais l’introduction d’insectes pollinisateurs d’élevage est une pratique encore très empirique qui manque de références techniques pour pouvoir être mise en œuvre avec précision. L’objectif général de cette thèse était de fournir des éléments pour mettre au point une méthode objective pour définir la charge en unités opérationnelles d’abeilles mellifères à introduire par unité de surface de culture cible pour complémenter la faune pollinisatrice sauvage pour que la pollinisation ne soit pas un facteur de production limitant.Nous avons travaillé sur une lignée mâle fertile et une lignée mâle stérile de colza (Brassica napus L.), les productions de semence hybride dépendant entièrement des insectes pour la pollinisation chez cette espèce. Nous avons pu déterminer (i) le nombre minimum de grains de pollen viables devant être déposés par stigmate pour que la grenaison puisse être complète en fonction de la température, (ii) la durée après anthèse pendant laquelle le pollen doit être déposé sur le stigmate pour que la grenaison puisse être complète en fonction de la température, (iii) la durée pendant laquelle une fleur sécrète du nectar en fonction de la température pour chacune des deux lignées, et (iv) la vitesse de cette sécrétion nectarifère en fonction de la température pour chacune des deux lignées. Nous avons également validé une méthode d’évaluation rapide de la taille des cheptels d’abeilles mellifères introduits dans les cultures entomophiles, couramment utilisée dans certains pays, en tenant compte de la température.A partir de ces éléments, nous avons proposé d’introduire les concepts d’offre et de demande en pollinisation d’une culture cible, afin de quantifier les déficits de pollinisation et le nombre d’insectes pollinisateurs à introduire pour compléter ces déficits. Ces premiers éléments fournissent une base pour construire un modèle mécaniste de gestion intégrée de la pollinisation, pour prédire le nombre d’insectes pollinisateurs à introduire dans une culture étant donné son contexte climatique, paysager et variétal. / Insects contribute to the pollination of 70% of the species cultivated today around the world. With the agriculture intensification in the early twentieth century, farmers began to introduce honey bees colonies into their entomophilous crops to provide pollination service. With the growing recognition of the major role played by wild insects in crop pollination, the concept of integrated crop pollination recently emerged, encouraging the combination of introduced and wild pollinating insects by adapting agricultural practices to ensure sustainable pollination of crops. But the introduction of managed pollinating insects is still an empirical practice that lacks technical references to be implemented with precision. The general objective of this thesis was to provide elements to develop an objective method to define the operational unit load of honey bees to be introduced per unit area of target crop to complement wild pollinating fauna so that pollination is not a limiting factor for production.We worked on a male fertile and a male sterile oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) lines, hybrid seed productions being entirely dependent on insects for pollination in this species. We were able to determine (i) the minimum number of viable pollen grains to be deposited on stigma so that seed set was complete depending on the temperature, (ii) the duration after anthesis during which the pollen must be deposited on the stigma so that seed set was complete depending on the temperature, (iii) the length of time a flower secretes nectar as a function of temperature for each of the two lines, and (iv) the rate of this nectar secretion as a function of temperature for each of the two lines. We also validated a method for rapid assessment of the size of honey bee stocking rate introduced into entomophilous crops, commonly used in some countries, taking into account temperature.From these elements, we proposed to introduce the concepts of supply and demand in pollination of a target crop, in order to quantify the pollination deficits and the number of pollinating insects to introduce to complete these deficits. These first elements provide a basis for constructing a mechanistic model of integrated pollination management, to predict the number of pollinating insects to be introduced into a crop given its climatic, landscape and varietal context.