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3-1 Production

The evolution of grape production technology in Dacun truly reflects the development trajectory of Taiwan's refined agriculture. The shift from early open-field cultivation to greenhouse facilities has seen farmers investing an average of 2.5 million NTD per hectare to build typhoon-resistant reinforced frames. Although this capital expenditure increases initial costs, it helps reduce the risk of reduced yields caused by extreme weather. In terms of cultivation management, farmers use the "topping to promote sprouting" technique to regulate the growing period, spreading out the summer and winter harvest seasons to avoid price drops during peak production and thus improve profitability. Notably, the concept of "grass-based cultivation" has been promoted, and vineyards across the town have started gradually adopting manual weed trimming, instead of removing all weeds from the soil as was done in the past. Although this practice increases the annual management costs per hectare, it effectively reduces herbicide usage and complies with international agricultural certification standards.

From a production cost structure perspective, an annual investment of about 1.5 million NTD per hectare is made, with labor costs accounting for 55%, mainly for fine tasks like thinning and bagging. Taking the thinning process as an example, each bunch of grapes requires multiple rounds of manual adjustment to achieve the ideal fruit shape. This labor-intensive characteristic creates a technical barrier and explains why the proportion of professional farmers has risen starting at 42% in 2000, it has now grown to 78%. In terms of material input, the use of special grape bagging materials enhances fruit powder integrity and reduces sunburn damage, increasing the yield of high-quality fruits. Organic transformation shows a tiered cost change. Initially, organic methods require higher costs due to the use of organic materials to improve soil. However, as soil organic content increases, long-term costs can be reduced in terms of fertilizer usage and pest control.