2008 PESP Champions

The following PESP members have been selected as PESP Champions for their accomplishments in 2008:

Central Coast Vineyard Team
Highlands Soil & Water
IPM Institute of North America
North American Pollinator Protection Campaign
Sarasota County (Florida) Government
SYSCO Corporation

Champion Evaluation Criteria

Members must have an up-to-date PESP strategy.
Did the PESP member improve economic benefits associated with IPM adoption? This would include:
- reducing the number of pesticide applications,
- using targeted spraying instead of broad spectrum applications, and
- increasing the number of acres under IPM.

Did they reduce risk to human health through IPM practices? They could achieve reductions by:
- increasing the number of acres under IPM,
- increasing the use of biopesticides,
- increasing the number of people/buildings impacted by IPM, and
- reducing the number of pesticide applications.
Did they reduce risk to the environment through best management practices (BMP)? Risk reductions would be anticipated if organizations:
- utilized best management practices,
- participated on committees that developed BMPs, and
- evaluated the effectiveness of BMPs once adopted.
Were there a number of tech transfer trainings?
What was the extent of the education outreach?

The factors EPA evaluated in selecting the PESP Champions are listed in the box to the right. PESP members were given the opportunity to self-nominate.

The following PESP members were selected as Champions for these achievements:

Highland Soil and Water

Pledged to integrate and promote environmental stewardship as a key component to their pest control strategies. Through the use of their demonstration trials, educational outreach and scientific observations, Highland Soils has been able to define the benefits of using reduced use alternatives.

Strawberry growers in Ventura County, California, are using soil management techniques in lieu of the volatile organic compound (VOC) emission reduction regulations. These best management practices are now used in over 2000 strawberry acres in California.
The success is measured by the reduced use of soil fumigants and fungicides by Highland Soils customers. Their customers have reduced the use of fungicides and fumigants or replaced them with reduced use compounds. Pesticide use has been reduced by 20-30 percent annually.
Highland Soils and Water has sponsored a number of symposia and training seminars about IPM and best management practices to interested parties and their customers. These courses have been offered in California and Nevada.

IPM Institute of North America

An independent, non-profit organization that leverages the marketplace power to improve health, environment and economics through IPM. Key areas of success include:

Third Party Certification Program, IPM STAR reduces pest problems and pesticide use in school systems and childcare facilities and has positively impacted over 2 million children.
GreenShield Certified recognizes pest management providers and non-school facilities who meet a high standard for advanced IPM. Currently, twelve pest management providers and one facility are certified with an additional 20 providers in progress.
EcoApple is a certification program for growers who follow a highly advance IPM protocol for apple production. There are 12 growers and 800 participants in seven Northeast states.
BMP Challenge is co-led by the IPM Institute. A farmer income guarantee, covering over 3,300 acres in eight states. The program reduces sediment, nutrient and chemical runoff from fields into water ways and agriculture-related greenhouse gas emissions. The program alone has reduced sediment runoff by 1,700 tons since 2000.
The IPM Institute of North America has been the cornerstone of the National Schools IPM Pest Management Strategic Plan. Led by Dr. Tom Green, the collaboration of university, federal government and private sector organizations have come together to form the strategic plan for school IPM and realize implementation by 2015.

Sarasota County (Florida) Government

The County has made tremendous strides in reducing pesticide use and changing management practices that will reduce their footprint.

Examples of practices include reducing fertilizer use by introducing two soil inoculants and using automated injectors for the applications. The majority of parks and facilties don’t receive any nutritional applications.
Biological controls are used for mosquito management. Stocking the pools with mosquito fish (Gambusia) rather than using more toxic methods for controlling mosquito.
School IPM continues to grow and there is a downward trend in the use of toxic products.

SYSCO Corporation

SYSCO is the world’s largest food service distributor, with more than $36 billion in annual sales. In 2004, SYSCO began a Sustainable Agriculture/Pest Management initiative to promote environmental stewardship in partnership with SYSCO brand canned and frozen fruit and vegetable food processor suppliers.

Since 2004, the program has facilitated the reduction of pesticide use by nearly 1 million pounds and helped reduce fertilizer applications by 8.7 million pounds. Suppliers have recycled or reused more than 31 million pounds of material.

SYSCO has partnered with the Regional IPM Centers, EPA and the IPM Institute of North America to organize two sustainable agricultural conferences with more than 100 attendees each and featuring success stories and resources. In both years, evaluations indicated that 98 percent found the experience worthwhile and would attend again.
SYSCO played a key role in the 2007 Food Industry Summit on sustainability hosted by EPA and organized by the IPM Institute of North America. This summit led to additional collaboration with EPA (other PESP members and water quality project).

North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC)

NAAPC works in collaboration to protect the health of managed and native pollinating animals vital to the ecosystems and agriculture.

Promote Guides for planting for pollinators . These guides will teach the reader about their region, highlight tips on how to create a pollinator friendly habitat by showing what type of plants attract which type of pollinator, and ultimately illustrate how someone can help the pollinators in their region.
Coordinate local, national, and international action projects in the areas of pollinator research, education and awareness, conservation and restoration, policies and practices, and special partnership initiatives;
Facilitate communication among stakeholders, build strategic coalitions, and leverage existing resources; and
Demonstrate a positive measurable impact on the populations and health of pollinating animals within five years.
NAPPC has been instrumental in focusing attention on the plight of pollinators and the need to protect them throughout the tri-national region comprised of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Two such efforts were the NAPPC Strategic Planning Conferences at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC. These two conferences resulted in an ambitious but vitally important and scientifically sound blueprint for pollinator protection.

Central Coast Vineyard Team (CCVT)

CCVT supports sustainable winegrowing through outreaching to vineyard owners, operators, and employees.

Through the use of the Positive Points System, a comprehensive self-assessment program addressing pesticide risk and whole-farm management, CCVT collected over 800 evaluations since 1996. Data shows that growers are adopting new practices and interaction with the growers indicates a broad change in the culture and approach to farming.
Launched the Certified Sustainability Grown Program in 2008. With over three years and extensive technical support and external peer-review, CCVT finalized its draft standards for certified sustainably grown. With regards to pesticides, the standards have a Do Not Use pesticide list that prohibits use of certain materials.
CCVT began its Pilot Certification program which involves 15 growers and 3000 acres. These growers have been independently audited by a third party and have met the strict requirements to be labeled as sustainably grown. This claim will be placed on the final product and will be in the market 2009.