Eco-Fruit
There is a lot happening statewide with the eco-fruit program in 2008. In addition to our on-going farmer networks, we are expanding our conference calling services to link up farmers and coaches during the busy pest management season. There are four separate sets of calls planned for this season:
• Apple IPM calls (led by John Aue, with UWEX participating);
• Organic Apple calls (led by Michael Phillips, with Aue and others joining);
• Central WI Strawberry calls (led by coach and grower Andy Merry); and
• Southern WI Strawberry calls (led by coach and grower Dale Secher).
The conference calls are open to all interested commercial growers. You pay any long distance phone charges. Want to join the calls? Email Lisa DiPietro to join the blog / listserve to receive info about connecting, listening to call recordings, and receiving call summaries. Lisa can also be reached by phone at 608-265-3637.
July 11 we are planning a workshop on biological insect control at the Peninsular Agricultural Research Station in Sturgeon Bay. Contact the research station for details at 920.743.5406
Support for fruit growers interested in IPM - EQIP and other USDA conservation programs
Orchardists in the eco-fruit program worked to improve conservation contracts with USDA NRCS. Wisconsin orchardists are now eligible for $120/acre to add IPM techniques (Standard 595 - Pest Management) through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) program sponsored by USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). At least 31 growers (apple and cherry) have EQIP contracts for IPM on 1750 acres, about 19% of orchard acreage in Wisconsin.
To participate in the Wisconsin program, contact your county NRCS office. Don't wait until the program deadline to initiate a conversation with NRCS - EQIP deadlines tend to come at busy times in the orchard. Remember that you may also sign up to implement other practices such as irrigation offered by the Agency. Your NRCS county staff can help you navigate EQIP and other conservation programs (such as CSP) that may support your efforts at environmental sustainability.
The Eco-Fruit program provides leadership to other states, especially in the North Central Region, that are interested in pursuing conservation programs as a means to increase IPM adoption. The NCR has a region-wide web site with specific information on EQIP and other programs that assist growers in implementing IPM. See our Journal of Soil and Water Conservation article.
Highlights from the Eco-Fruit program through 2007:
• We served at least 86 growers in core programming.
• Three quarters of growers for which we have multiple year data (15 growers) reduced their tox score by an average of 65%. All growers show an immediate improvement in their IPM scores.
• 55 apple growers are engaged in farmer networks.
• All of the four of the core apple networks are self-sustaining to some degree.
• Preliminary analysis from the berry baseline survey indicates an average self-reported IPM score of 56% (26% low / 84% high). We are poised to launch two berry grower networks to raise IPM adoption in this crop.
Join us!
If you are a member of one of our farmer networks, we will set the date soon for our All Networks meeting November 2008 in Madison. Whether you are in a network or not, you may also access our grower blog, Apple Talk, at http://www.thinkIPM.org/appletalk. (You will need a username and password from Lisa DiPietro.)The blog includes pest management information specifically for WI commercial apple growers and also provides summaries of our weekly conference calls held throughout the pest management season.
Look here for more information about the eco-fruit project: http://cias.wisc.edu/ecoapple.php.
Want to reduce reliance on pesticides on your farm?
There are lots of places you can go for information on ways to reduce high-risk pesticides on your farm, and you just discovered an internet portal created especially for Wisconsin farmers to quickly find what you need.
Farmer networks and organizations
There may be farmers in your area who are developing creative solutions to pest management. Contact them for advice. Some groups have a web url. Check out this section for short-cuts to contacting them. Grower organizations have teamed up with consultants and the University of WI to reduce pesticides. Fruit and potato growers are invested in making a change.University & other government services
There are many public service providers that can assist you with publications on pest management options, lab services, workshops and training on pest management, or who may be engaged in research relevant to your business. Some of these researchers may be interested in conducting research with you on your farm.Farm services
Private service providers, such as crop consultants, can give you good advice and manage your crop pests for a fee. Your local farm supply dealership may offer consultant services to help you reduce risks from pesticides.
Want to let others know you use IPM on your farm?
Look for signs posted along county and township roads near McFarland, Omro, Antigo, Coloma, Plover, Hancock, and Grand Marsh.
Which pesticides are high risk?
The US Environmental Protection Agency regulates pesticides. In 1996, Congress required EPA to reassess our health and environmental risks from pesticides. To start this task, the agency sorted pesticides into three categories - high, medium and low risk pesticides. You can visit the EPA web site for these risk priority lists. (The lists are provided within the Federal Register link.) Since 1996, EPA staff are reviewing new information about pesticide risk and changing pesticide regulations to better protect our health. Organophosphates, a group of closely-related insecticides that affect the functioning of the nervous system, are the first pesticides to undergo review. Additional pesticides are currently under review.
EPA issued its final decision on Azinphos-methyl to phase out the remaining uses by September 30, 2012. EPA plans to further restrict phosmet(imidan)and will include risk mitigation on labels of phosmet products sold or distributed by the registrant after June 2008. Additional phosmet mitigation includes:
* lower seasonal maximum application rates
* prohibition of phosmet application until after certain high-exposure activities have occurred
* a 25-foot buffer zone around occupied dwellings for ground applications
* a 50-foot buffer zone around occupied dwellings for aerial applications
* health protective entry restrictions for pick-your-own operations
In June 2007, the EPA issued a draft list of 73 chemicals first in line to be screened for their potential to disrupt the endocrine system. An endocrine disruptor is a chemical that mimics hormones, blocks production of hormones, or decreases or increases the production of hormones in humans and animals.
Researchers have found that endocrine disruptors cause developmental and reproductive problems in certain fish and wildlife. For example, a large pesticide spill in Apopka, FL is linked to a declining alligator population. The alligators in this area have diminished reproductive organs that prevent successful reproduction. It is likely that endocrine disruptors cause developmental and reproductive problems in humans as well. Due to this concern, the EPA launched its Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program in 1996. After much preparation, the EPA is nearly ready to begin screening.
The 73 chemicals on the EPA’s draft list were chosen based on their exposure potential. They are the chemicals that people and wildlife are most likely to be exposed to. The EPA notes that list “should not be construed as a list of known or likely endocrine disruptors.” Some of the chemicals on the list include: 2,4-D, captan, glyphosate, malathion, and phosmet. See the list.
What is Integrated Pest Management?
IPM is an approach to pest control that offers farmers and others with pest problems (like people who manage buildings and parks) a means to reduce the risk from the pesticides they apply. IPM is a sustainable approach that helps farmers combine the use of pest prevention, avoidance, monitoring and pest suppression strategies, minimizing economic, health, and environmental risks. An IPM approach to pest management requires the manager to take a systems approach to managing pests. This is a site-specific activity, not something that a farmer can do using a "cook book" approach. Management-intensive pest control is specfic to the crops involved. IPM in tree fruit differs from IPM in berrries. IPM in fresh market vegetables may differ from IPM used in raising vegetables intended for processing. IPM in raising field crops like corn and soybeans will differ if the farming system also includes animals or the farm simply raises cash grain. Cornell University offers a Primer on IPM.
Why would I want to take a systems approach to pest management?
It can save you money, time, health problems and other grief. It can also make farming more fun. Agriculture is part of the larger natural systems around it -- the water cycle, the nutrient cycle, and the cycles of other living things such as plants, animals, insects, even other human cycles. By thinking of agriculture as part of these other systems, it is possible to take advantage of them to make farming more profitable and productive. This requires more intensive management and a working knowledge of how all these cycles work in harmony. It takes a good eye to recognize when they are in dis-harmony and to recognize why they are working against each other. Design your farm to take advantages of natural cycles and minimize friction between your farm management system and natural systems. You will be glad you did.
Who sponsors this site?
This site is made possible by Wisconsin agricultural organizations that know reducing high-risk pesticides is both possible and desireable. Reducing pesticides is possible because farmers and researchers are continually searching for better ways to manage pests. Reducing high risk pesticides is desirable because high risk pesticides can have unintended negative affects on our health and environment.
A number of agencies also support the University of Wisconsin's Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems work on pesticide reduction. They are:
- US EPA - Minor and Specialty Crops IPM Special Projects: “Pesticide reduction in WI fruit production,” 2006-2009
- USDA Special Projects pesticide reduction grants, 2002-present
- Center for Agricultural Partnerships, in cooperation with the US Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters: “EQIP for apple growers,” 2005
- American Farmland Trust, in cooperation with the US Environmental Protection Agency – Region V: “Pesticide Risk Reduction in WI Apple/Fruit Production,” 2004-2007
- USDA SARE PDP: “WI Eco-apple production education and outreach,” 2004-2006