Estimation of the Remaining Value for Grape Harvesters Based on Second-Hand European Market Online Data

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

About the submission with the title "Estimation of the ASABE Remaining Value for grape harvesters based on second-hand European market online data" I have the following comments:

I was unable to understand the interest for the several stakeholders, including the scientific community, of this research, because, in general, in the European Union markets the agricultural machinery and equipments have a lifespan of 10-12 years and with 0% of remaining value. This is the methodology used in the cash flows to assess the projects of investment in the farms. This is a standard approach for the RV calculation. So why to calculate the RV? How the values presented in table 1 and 4 are adjusted with this reality?

Why to put "Estimation of the ASABE..." in the title? The majority of readers do not understand what is ASABE!!

This superficial and misadjusted definition of objectives is only understandable, considering the absence of literature review. How it is possible to design a scientific paper with 15 references?

I suggest, the authors carry out a good literature review, after identify adjusted objectives for the data they have and finally present something with a scientific structure.

Author Response

About the submission with the title "Estimation of the ASABE Remaining Value for grape harvesters based on second-hand European market online data" I have the following comments:

I was unable to understand the interest for the several stakeholders, including the scientific community, of this research, because:

• in general, in the European Union markets the agricultural machinery and equipment have a lifespan of 10-12 years and with 0% of remaining value.

The interesting point is that all the advertisements correspond to grape harvesters from the European Union. Even though in theory those features provided by the reviewer are true (10-12 years), in reality the actual lifespan is much larger in the second hand market. This is the same for other equipment as tractors and combines as derived from the different web pages dedicated to second hand machinery. In fact, in Spain, only this year, it has been forbidden selling tractors with more than 40 years.

• This is the methodology used in the cash flows to assess the projects of investment in the farms. This is a standard approach for the RV calculation. So why to calculate the RV? How the values presented in table 1 and 4 are adjusted with this reality?

Computing the RV is very relevant for people interested in buying second hand machinery. Since the Brazilian market will surely in the first steps be buying such grape harvesters, providing some clues on how to assess the RV is of utmost importance. Moreover, being able to compute the RV is very relevant for quantifying the assets in the farm accountant data. The data presented in table 1 and 4 are second hand prices actual data from internet web pages, and are used in this study as the reference for modelling.

• Why to put "Estimation of the ASABE..." in the title? The majority of readers do not understand what is ASABE!!

The term ASABE has been removed from the title

• This superficial and misadjusted definition of objectives is only understandable, considering the absence of literature review. How it is possible to design a scientific paper with 15 references?

In order to contribute to the process of grape harvest mechanization in Brazil, the objective of this research is to determine the experimental RV coefficients using a market database generated from Spanish and French online sale data.

• I suggest, the authors carry out a good literature review,

The bibliography review initially was restricted to the analysis of grape harvesters. In order to follow the indications of the reviewer, the state of the art has been enlarged with 9 articles related to second-hand machinery analysis, even though they refer mainly to tractors or generic combines. The following paragraph has been included:

There is limited scientific information regarding the analysis of second-hand market of agricultural machinery and equipment, mainly related to developing countries. Dauda et al., 2021 gathered data from 53 tractors in Nigeria and concluded that the vehicles, all in use in private and public enterprises, were far above the life-span and still in use. Also Mutlu (2020) gathered a database of 450 tractors in use in turkey. The tractors showed to be in many cases above the theoretical lifespan which justified the need of a detailed analysis for modelling the price in the second hand market based on objective parameters. An exponential behavior was found between the age and the price in the second hand market (r2=0.96), and the rated power (r2=0.82), and also exponential but with less explanatory ability with regard to the total usage.

Malinen et al. (2016) indicated that the price for second-hand harvesters depended mainly in the machine age more that the total usage. Also a significant lower age of harvesters was found in the northern European countries with regard to east European ones. On the other hand, Andrushko (2014) analyzed the relevance of first and second hand marker in Ukraine of agricultural machinery, and concluded that second-hand equipment volume overcomes that of first hand in many agricultural machinery types such as grain combines and tractors.

Bibliography format is in accordance to the journal requirements.

• after identify adjusted objectives for the data they have and finally present something with a scientific structure.

We would like to state once more that this study, even though corresponding to a development and innovation approach, is of utmost importance in the actual process of grape harvest mechanization in Brazil. It answers the requirements of an agricultural society that deserves to develop according to advanced technical analysis. The definition of objectives in the paper have been adjusted according to this main concept. 

Reviewer 2 Report

This paper deals with an interesting topic, which is to estimate the remaining value of machines for grape harvest in the second-hand online market in France and Spain, following the ASABE standards.

I consider that the research problem is relevant and clearly explained. The proposed methodology is adequate and the main aspects concerning methodology are well explained. I appreciate the differentiation by country market (France and Spain), typology of machines, as well as the type of ownership (private ownership or service providers). Taking into account the use of the machines (number of hours) is also needed for a rigorous analysis. However, I suggest several changes both in contents and formal aspects to improve the research. Thus, my main concerns about the current state of this paper are the following ones:

- The abstract includes the main information, but I consider that it should show more clearly some elements, such as the gap that it covers and its novelty.

- The contribution and the novelty of the paper should be underlined mainly in the abstract, introduction, and conclusions. I suggest underlining that this paper follows a new approach, focusing on remaining value (estimated following that methodology), instead of scrap value.

- It should be explained why this paper is focused on the second-hand online market. The selection of the two specific countries (France and Spain) should also be explained. These markets present some differences, as the research shows. Moreover, the introduction of these machines in Spain is considerably later than in the USA or France. Why are they relevant for their research?

- Regarding the empirical analysis, it is not clear if the value is selected according to the final price of the real sale or only based on the Internet offer, regardless of whether it is sold and the final price in that case. From my perspective, it is not the same to use one or the other because the final price can differ from the remaining value or price of the online sale. Thus, the implications for analysis differ.

- Concerning the recommendations and implications of this research, it is stated that this research will be useful for farmers, service providers, and insurers. However, the suggestions and implications, as well as the motivations or reasons are not specified.

- The main limitations and future extensions of this research should be underlined. Concerning the limitations, some assumptions can be needed for the analysis, but they are very restrictive. Thus, these issues should be considered limitations. An illustrative example of limitations is the selected time for collecting data, only two months in the last quarter of the year 2017. I think that it would be better to select a complete year. I am aware that widening the time now requires new research as doing the empirical research again. However, the selection of only two months needs some explanation. Another problem of the database concerns the low number of offers that it includes once refined (89, and only 44 completed).

Regarding the extensions, a comparison with other markets, as the case of the US would be interesting. Other relevant issues to address are the environmental effect as well as the employment effect resulting from the use of these machines.

Concerning the formal issues, I suggest the following issues:

- About references, I recommend indicating the authors before the number, especially when there are direct quotations. This may facilitate a fluid reading and better understanding of literature review and discussion sections.

- Reviewing the use of abbreviations to be coherent throughout the manuscript. For instance, the meaning of ASABE is not indicated.

- Overall, the writing is good. However, I suggest polishing up the English writing to avoid some typos.

Author Response

This paper deals with an interesting topic, which is to estimate the remaining value of machines for grape harvest in the second-hand online market in France and Spain, following the ASABE standards.

I consider that the research problem is relevant and clearly explained. The proposed methodology is adequate and the main aspects concerning methodology are well explained. I appreciate the differentiation by country market (France and Spain), typology of machines, as well as the type of ownership (private ownership or service providers). Taking into account the use of the machines (number of hours) is also needed for a rigorous analysis. However, I suggest several changes both in contents and formal aspects to improve the research. Thus, my main concerns about the current state of this paper are the following ones:

• The abstract includes the main information, but I consider that it should show more clearly some elements, such as the gap that it covers and its novelty.

The following sentence has been included in the abstract: Since Brazil, a developing country, is at the very first steps in the process of grape harvest mechanization, it is likely that second-hand grape harvesters will be mainly the machines that will be imported and employed for this task. Moreover, Brazilian legislation promotes second-hand market above that of new equipment.

• The contribution and the novelty of the paper should be underlined mainly in the abstract, introduction, and conclusions. I suggest underlining that this paper follows a new approach, focusing on remaining value (estimated following that methodology), instead of scrap value.

In order to highlight the contribution and the novelty of the paper the following sentences have been included in the conclusions: This research provides a relevant and reliable procedure in order to facilitate the computation of the remaining value of grape harvesters, which are likely to be the first type of harvesters that will be incorporated to the Brazilian process of grape harvest mechanization.

• It should be explained why this paper is focused on the second-hand online market. The selection of the two specific countries (France and Spain) should also be explained. These markets present some differences, as the research shows. Moreover, the introduction of these machines in Spain is considerably later than in the USA or France. Why are they relevant for their research?

France and Spain have similar land structure of vines, also with regard to Brazil. On the other hand, the harvest season in Europe and Brazil are complementary (summer and winter respectively). Therefore, there is the actual possibility that at the beginning of the mechanization process in Brazil some harvester will be deployed from Europe to Brazil and Chile, and eventually sold in those countries as second hand equipment.

• Regarding the empirical analysis, it is not clear if the value is selected according to the final price of the real sale or only based on the Internet offer, regardless of whether it is sold and the final price in that case. From my perspective, it is not the same to use one or the other because the final price can differ from the remaining value or price of the online sale. Thus, the implications for analysis differ.

This comment is very interesting and relevant. We could not access the final selling value since this is not a data than can be easily and reliably found.

• Concerning the recommendations and implications of this research, it is stated that this research will be useful for farmers, service providers, and insurers. However, the suggestions and implications, as well as the motivations or reasons are not specified.

This comment is answered in a previous one: there is the actual possibility that at the beginning of the mechanization process in Brazil some harvesters will be deployed from Europe to Brazil and Chile, and eventually sold in those countries as second hand equipment

• The main limitations and future extensions of this research should be underlined. Concerning the limitations, some assumptions can be needed for the analysis, but they are very restrictive. Thus, these issues should be considered limitations. An illustrative example of limitations is the selected time for collecting data, only two months in the last quarter of the year 2017. I think that it would be better to select a complete year. I am aware that widening the time now requires new research as doing the empirical research again. However, the selection of only two months needs some explanation. Another problem of the database concerns the low number of offers that it includes once refined (89, and only 44 completed).

Since the research intends to provide a general procedure, the database can be improved at any time, and the computations directly applied.

Since the research intends to provide a general analysis procedure for the second-hand market of grape harvesters, the database can be improved at any time, and the computations directly applied.

• Regarding the extensions, a comparison with other markets, as the case of the US would be interesting. Other relevant issues to address are the environmental effect as well as the employment effect resulting from the use of these machines.

There are several papers of ours concerning this particular issue that have been included in the state of the art:

Valente da Costa Neto, Wilson Valente da, Elorza, Pilar Barreiro, & Garrido-Izard, Miguel. (2019). Impact of local conditions and machine management on grape harvest quality. Scientia Agricola, 76(5), 353-361. Epub April 25, 2019.https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1678-992x-2017-0420

Valente da Costa Neto; W; Garrido Izard, M.; Barreiro Elorza, P.; Domingues, F. 2017. First steps in the grape mechanization process in Brazil: quantitative features. Agricultural Engineering International: CIGR Journal 19 (2): 110-119

Wilson Valente da Costa, Pilar Barreiro, Belén Diezma.2018. Analysis of Vine Vibration Conditions and Grape Harvest Quality in Spain under Actual Mechanized Harvest Conditions. AgEng2018 8-12 July Wageningen (Netherlands)

Wilson Valente da Costa Neto; Pilar Barreiro Elorza. 2017. Perdas de mosto na colheita mecânica de uvas: Comparativo Brasil e Espanha. Agroingeniería 2017 4-6 septiembre Braganza (Portugal)

Valente da Costa Neto, Wilson Valente; Garrido Izard, Miguel (2017). Verification of the quality of DGPS signal in Rio Grande do Sul – Brazil, compared to Villarrobledo (Spain). En: "IX Congreo de Estudiantes Universitarios de Ciencia, Tecnología e Ingeniería Agronómica", 09 de mayo de 2017, Escuela de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, UPM, Madrid. ISBN 9788474012262. pp. 59-62

The following sentence has been included in the state of the art: The authors of current research have been already dedicated to the analysis of the potential and actual process of grape harvest mechanization in Brazil as stated in …., and therefore are in the optimal conditions to face the analysis of the incorporation of second hand machines to the process of grape mechanization in this country

Concerning the formal issues, I suggest the following issues:

• About references, I recommend indicating the authors before the number, especially when there are direct quotations. This may facilitate a fluid reading and better understanding of literature review and discussion sections.

Bibliography format and citation is according to journal specifications

• Reviewing the use of abbreviations to be coherent throughout the manuscript. For instance, the meaning of ASABE is not indicated.

Corrected in the text

• Overall, the writing is good. However, I suggest polishing up the English writing to avoid some typos.

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The relationships between the Spanish and French markets and the Brazilian market should be properly explained. In other words, are the agricultural equipments in fact imported from Spain and French. If this is not demonstrated the research is compromised. 

The literature review needs to be significantly improved. 

Author Response

France, with a fleet of more than 10,000 grape harvesters, is the main
supplier of second-hand machines from a wide variety of manufacturers;
self-propelled and trailed; with and without grape tanks; of varying
sizes.  Since the beginning of the harvest mechanisation process in
Spain, which started more than twenty years after France, the country
has absorbed part of the French surplus both in service to third parties
and by buying second-hand equipment.
As a result of our preliminary research analysing the first steps of
harvest mechanisation in Brazil, and considering the complementarity of
the harvest season with respect to Europe, several Spanish entrepreneurs
have expressed their interest in accessing the potential Brazilian
market; taking advantage of a well-established maritime transport route,
complementary to the transport of fresh fruit in the opposite direction.
There is actual possibility that grape harvesters moving to Brazil will
be taken over by local growers, so it is important to anticipate this
and have the tools to value second-hand grape harvesters. This study
aims to train Brazilian professionals along these lines; the general
procedure proposed can be dynamically enriched by adding new records to
the database as the process of mechanisation of grape harvesting in
Brazil takes place.