IPM Voice Newsletter                                                                                                                          January 2013

Pesticide Issues in the News Draw Attention to IPM 
Pesticides have been the focus of recent press coverage, including a  policy statement released last month by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), a New York Times opinion piece and a Boston Globe article. The AAP's statement referenced a technical report addressing children's unique vulnerabilities to pesticide exposures. The report promotes IPM to address pest problems in homes, schools and childcare centers. The New York Times op-ed by Mark Bittman, lead food writer for The Times magazine, highlighted connections between pesticide use and risks to human health and environment, and referred to IPM as an approach to reduce pesticide use. The Boston Globe article reported on a 45% reduction in asthma rates in public housing resulting from Boston Housing Authority's IPM program. Asthma rates in comparable, non-IPM housing remained relatively constant.

IPM Working Group Releases Final Discussion Paper Draft

The IPM Working Group appointed by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities Board on Agriculture Assembly, Budget and Advocacy Committee (BAA-BAC) has finalized a discussion paper containing recommendations to guide the budget authorization process by addressing the erosion of previous funding for IPM from the National Institute for Food and Agriculture.  The paper will be presented to the BAA-BAC by the beginning of February.

 

This final draft includes input from IPM Voice and an IPM Voice-supported call for the creation of a National IPM Coordinator position to work closely with government agencies and a pest management coordinating/administrative council, focusing on critical pest management issues across agencies and leading federally funded IPM initiatives.

Farm Bill Update 
Early this year, Congress passed an extension of the 2008 Farm BillWhile core IPM funding was not impacted, some National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) programs that fund pest management projects were left without mandatory funding in the extension.  These programs include the Organic Ag Research & Extension Initiative and the Specialty Crops Research Initiative.  Without mandatory funding, separate funding legislation will be needed to activate these programs in 2013.  Click here for a list of all impacted programs.

In addition, the extension does not fix an error that was included in October's Continuing Resolution that is now preventing farmers from signing up for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) for 2013. The CSP encourages landowners to implement and maintain conservation activities (including IPM) on agricultural land and nonindustrial private forest land.

 

In April 2012, IPM Voice secured authorization of the USDA Regional IPM Centers in the Senate version of the 2013 Farm Bill, which if included in the final bill, may have made it more likely that Center funding would continue in the future. Authorization will continue to be an IPM Voice priority.

Mark Your Calendars!

The 8th IPM Symposium will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah USA from March 24-26, 2015 at the Salt Palace Convention Center. Headquarters hotel will be the Radisson Hotel Salt Lake City Downtown.  SHARE THIS DATE WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES TODAY!  Symposium sessions will address IPM across disciplines, internationally, in the market place, urban settings, greenhouses and more.


The 7th Symposium, held in Memphis last year, attracted more than 630 professionals from 36 countries for three days of presentations, networking and organizational meetings.


More details will be announced in the coming months.  The 8th International IPM Symposium website is currently under development; for general information about the event, please visit the
7th International IPM Symposium website.
FY 2012 Funding Awarded for Pest Management Research and Activities

In December, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) reported more than $33 million in FY 2012 awards for research and extension addressing pest management issues. Funding for IPM, including the Regional IPM Centers and Pest Management Alternatives Program, represented less than half of the $33 million awarded. A complete list of individual awards can be found online.

It's That Time of Year!

Remember to renew your IPM Voice membership for 2013 (or become a new member) by visiting https://ipmvoice.org/join.htm.

Upcoming IPM-Related Meetings and Conferences

February 3-5, 2013: Association of Applied IPM Ecologists Annual Meeting in Napa, CA. View the meeting schedule.

February 4-7, 2013: Weed Science Society of America Annual Meeting in Baltimore.  More details.

February 25-28, 2013:  Entomological Society of America (ESA) Southwestern Branch Annual Meeting, Las Cruces, NM.    

February 27-28, 2013: IR-4 National Education Conference, San Antonio, TX.

March 3-6, 2013: ESA Southeastern Branch Annual Meeting, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  

March 5, 2013: ESA International Branch Annual Meeting in Pucon, Chile.   

March 11-15, 2013: Western Society of Weed Science 2013 Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA. More details.

March 14-20, 2013: ESA Eastern Branch Annual Meeting, Lancaster, PA.

April 7-10, 2013:  ESA Pacific Branch Annual Meeting, Stateline, Nevada.

IPM Voice is an independent, non-profit organization advocating for integrated pest management (IPM) that is genuinely progressive and seeks continuous improvement of environmental, social and economic conditions through application of accepted scientific principles.  IPM Voice was formed in 2010 by more than 35 professionals working to expand the benefits IPM has provided to agriculture and communities for more than 40 years.

IPM Voice, Inc. / 4510 Regent Street  Madison, Wisconsin 53705 / 608-232-1410 / www.ipmvoice.org