title: Risk aversion affects economic values of blue fox breeding scheme.
abstract: The profit and production of an average Finnish blue fox farm was simulated using a deterministic bio-economic farm model. Risk was included using Arrow-Prat absolute risk aversion coefficient and profit variance. Risk-rated economic values were calculated for pregnancy rate, litter loss, litter size, pelt size, pelt quality, pelt colour clarity, feed efficiency and eye infection. With high absolute risk aversion, economic values were lower than with low absolute risk aversion. Economic values were highest for litter loss (18.16 and 26.42 EUR), litter size (13.27 and 19.40 EUR), pregnancy (11.99 and 18.39 EUR) and eye infection (12.39 and 13.81 EUR). Sensitivity analysis showed that selection pressure for improved eye health depended strongly on proportion of culled animals among infected animals and much less on the proportion of infected animals. The economic value of feed efficiency was lower than expected (6.06 and 8.03 EUR). However, it was almost the same magnitude as pelt quality (7.30 and 7.30 EUR) and higher than the economic value of pelt size (3.37 and 5.26 EUR). Risk factors should be considered in blue fox breeding scheme because they change the relative importance of traits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peura
authors.affiliation: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Green Technology Biometrical Genetics, Jokioinen, Finland.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kempe
authors.affiliation: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Green Technology Biometrical Genetics, Jokioinen, Finland.
authors.forename: I
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0161-2618
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Strandén
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rydhmer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D015817:Eye Infections / Q000662:veterinary; D000072480:Farms / Q000191:economics*; D005589:Foxes / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012098:Reproduction
keywords: bio-economic model; color clarity; eye infection; feed efficiency; litter loss; litter size; pelt quality; pelt size; pregnancy rate