Services · Surveys and valuations
Agronomic surveys and valuations
A survey exists to state the technical truth of a case. Not to confirm what the client already thinks, not to obtain a predetermined outcome, not to provide cover for a decision made elsewhere. If that is the kind of signature you are looking for, you would be better off looking elsewhere. If you are looking for a surveyor who tells you what they see, even when it costs, write to me.
Do you have a dispute or a valuation that requires an agronomist surveyor?
Write to me describing the case and your position (plaintiff, defendant, neutral third party, or court-appointed expert assignment).
Why a survey is only worth what its honesty is worth
A technical survey, before it is a means of evidence in court, is an act of professional honesty. The surveyor takes the position of someone who must state how things stand, under their own technical and professional responsibility. If the outcome is uncomfortable for the party paying for it, it must still be stated. If the figures do not add up, they must still be shown as they are. If the case is less clear-cut than it appeared, the uncertainty must still be declared.
This is so obvious it should not need saying. And yet the agronomic survey market is full of the opposite — surveys with predetermined outcomes, inflated valuations for fiscal purposes, damage assessments calibrated to the client’s lawyer’s expectations rather than the data. The Studio explicitly chooses not to work that way, and says so upfront.
Areas covered
Technical judicial and extrajudicial surveys. For disputes concerning trees (collapse, failure, damage), agronomic practices (cultural interventions, disease, crop damage), agricultural land use, boundaries and easements of an agronomic nature. I take on assignments both for plaintiffs and defendants and, by preference, as a neutral third party.
Court-appointed expert (CTU — Consulenza Tecnica d’Ufficio). Available for expert consultancy assignments conferred by the court, within the deontological framework of CONAF and civil procedure (arts. 191–201 of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure).
Ornamental valuations. Calculation of the ornamental value of individual trees or tree populations, using established methodologies (Salerno Municipal Green Regulations DCC 61/2000 and subsequent updates, Sirio CTNV method, specific municipal compensation formulas). Useful for quantifying compensation, deposits for green space interventions, patrimonial value of the greenery associated with a property.
Agricultural valuations. Value of vine, olive, orchard and arable stands. Assessment of above-ground value, establishment capital, and above-ground value separate from land. For sales, contributions in kind, inheritance divisions, expropriation compensation.
Technical expert opinions. When a dispute has not yet reached court but the client wants to understand where they genuinely stand before deciding whether to proceed. The opinion is honest even — especially — when it advises not to proceed.
How I work
Site visit before writing. No survey written on documents alone, without seeing the site or the specimens in question. The only exceptions are documentary-technical surveys (e.g. analysis of prior procedures), and even in those cases the constraint of not going beyond what the documents permit to state is explicit in the report.
Every claim grounded in verifiable sources. Technical and scientific literature for every substantive statement, precise regulatory references for every legal framework, declared estimative methodologies for every valuation. No statements from memory.
Explicit declaration of uncertainty. When the data do not permit a single conclusion, I say so. A survey that honestly declares the limits of its certainty is worth more, before a judge, than one that feigns a certainty it does not have.
Long timescales for honest cases. Surveys that require reading substantial case files, hearing the parties, conducting multiple site visits, reading specific literature, take weeks. I say this upfront.
What I deliver
Complete expert report with factual framework, regulatory and bibliographic framework, site inspection description, technical analysis, substantive assessment, conclusions. Documentary and photographic annexes. Valuations with traced methodology and verifiable figures. All digitally signed.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an agronomic survey cost?
It depends on complexity: an opinion on a single tree is not an estimative valuation of an agricultural holding, nor a litigation assignment with multiple site visits and files to read. I do not give a price at sight — I first understand the case, then provide a quote.
A tree fell and caused damage: is a survey needed?
When there is damage and potential liability, a survey that documents cause, dynamics and quantification is what holds up in a negotiation or before a judge. I handle these cases both extrajudicially and in litigation.
What is the difference between a party-commissioned survey and a court-appointed one?
A party-commissioned survey is ordered and paid by one of the parties in support of their position — and remains a technical, honest act nonetheless. A court-appointed expert (CTU) is appointed by the judge as a neutral third party. I take on both types of assignment, with a preference for the neutral expert role.
How is the value of an agricultural holding, a vineyard or an olive grove assessed?
With declared estimative methodologies — land value, above-ground value, establishment capital — traced and verifiable. No figures “by feel”: every number rests on a method and supporting data.
Can damage to a plant, or the value of a tree, be quantified?
Yes. Established methodologies exist for the ornamental value of a tree and for damage assessment (unlawful felling, construction damage, loss of specimens). They are used for compensation claims, deposits, and the patrimonial value of greenery associated with a property.
Do you work outside Campania?
Yes. The Studio is based in the Salerno area, but I take on assignments wherever the case merits it.