Progress Updates

12/19/11 IPM Voice Calls On Broussard to Make AFRI IPM Friendly. IPM Voice recently wrote to Dr. Meryl Broussard, Deputy Director for Agriculture and Natural Resources at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA, on behalf of IPM professionals and customers. The purpose of this letter was to educate NIFA leaders about the importance ensuring a clear path for IPM funding in NIFA requests for applications for funding. View letter to Broussard.

11/17/11 Final Spending Bill Supports IPM. The House and Senate agriculture funding committees have convened a conference committee to resolve their differences.  While final Senate action has not yet occurred, nothing  will change in the Senate related to IPM funding in the final bill.  Generally, IPM did better than expected in the conference: IPM Center funding is restored to 2010 levels, Extension funds dropped slightly from 2011 levels and IPM funding within NIFA will be about $4 million. More.

10/27/11 IPM Voice Visits Congressional Offices. During the week of October 10th, Jim Cubie, former chief counsel for the US Senate Agriculture Committee, and Tom Green of the IPM Institute visited ten congressional offices on behalf of IPM Voice. The key objectives of these meeting were to: 1) Make contact with key congressional staff, 2) Show Congress that there is a constituency for IPM and 3) Inform staff of the consequences of the precipitous decline in funding for IPM. More.

09/27/11 IPM Voice September Newsletter Available. The September newsletter includes an update on IPM Voice's current efforts to educate policy makers about the need for continued and expanded support for IPM. The update includes figures compiled by Harold Coble illustrating a reduction in federal funding for IPM since 2000 despite the successes of IPM programs and IPM Centers. More.

08/26/11 IPM Voice Creating Educational Factsheets. Jim Cubie, former chief counsel for the  U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, has been working with IPM Voice to develop a series of factsheets to educate policymakers and others about IPM successes.  These factsheets will be distributed next month to key congressional contacts.   

07/21/11 Why I Became a Member of IPM Voice, Harold Coble. I became a member of IPM Voice because I believe that for IPM to survive as a strong, viable approach to pest management, we must have a champion - a champion willing to educate and provide documentation of our successes and needs to those in seats of authority. I believe IPM Voice can be that champion.

Those of us involved on a day-to-day basis understand the importance of IPM, but we mostly take for granted that the public and our elected representatives understand that also - WRONG! We have seen what can happen to support programs for IPM when no one is standing up for us. We lost over $6 million in research and extension program support and could still lose another $4 million in support for IPM Centers, and I personally believe we lost that because no one made the case for the importance of those programs. That has to change!

I have heard that some are concerned that they might have a conflict of interest belonging to an organization that advocates for IPM. While it is true many of us, me included, are prohibited from going directly to Congress to advocate for our own programs, there is no conflict in belonging to an organization that might seek to inform our legislators about our situation and advocate for our programs. I also belong to AAA, AARP, USGA, a national political party, and some other organizations that advocate for things I believe in.

If those of us who know IPM and have spent much of our professional lives trying to improve other people's lives through IPM cannot stand up for what we believe in, we should just find something else to do.

- Harold Coble is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Crop Science, North Carolina State University. He now coordinates the Federal IPM Coordinating Committee and is employed as an agronomist by USDA's Office of Pest Management Policy. Dr. Coble previously served as the USDA's National IPM Coordinator .

07/18/11 NIFA Announces FY 2011 RFA for Regional IPM Centers. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announces the availability of grant funds and requests applications for the Regional IPM Centers Program for fiscal year 2011 to advance the NIFA priority area of Global Food Security and the goals of the National Roadmap for Integrated Pest Management .  The amount available for support of this program in FY 2011 is approximately $2,850,000 to fund equally-funded grants for Regional IPM Centers, one in each of its administrative regions: North Central, Northeastern, Southern and Western for an 18 month period (with a 12 month budget).  Applications are due August 19, 2011. 

06/17/11  House of Representatives Passes 2012 Agriculture Appropriations Bill.   On June 16, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its FY 2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which funds NRCS and Farm Bill conservation programs. The House-passed bill cuts discretionary USDA and FDA spending by $2.7 billion, nearly 14 percent below last year's level. The  bill also cuts mandatory Farm Bill conservation spending by $1 billion from  2008 Farm Bill levels and total mandatory funding by nearly $2 billion. The Senate has not yet started its budget and appropriations process for FY 2012.  Once ongoing budget/debt ceiling negotiations between Vice President Biden and six congressional leaders reach a deal, the Senate is expected to establish a discretionary spending cap for 2012 that would be somewhat higher than the House-passed numbers.  Although substantial cuts are still expected, this may allow the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee more flexibility than its House counterparts had.

05/26/11  House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee Adopts Bill Cutting Conservation and IPM-Related Program Funding. On May 24, the House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee adopted a funding bill that if passed, will cut $2.7 billion from the food and agriculture budget.  Nearly $1 billion would be cut from Farm Bill conservation funding, which includes programs such as the Conservation Stewardship Program.  The bill also proposes a $3 million cut to the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program  (SARE) and $40 million in cuts to the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI).  This bill threatens many programs that benefit IPM practitioners.   Here are some tips for contacting your legislator to express concerns about the impacts proposed cuts in IPM and conservation program funding may have.

05/25/11 A Call for IPM for Stored Products.  Frank Arthur, research entomologist with USDA ARS, expresses his concerns for the future as the numbers of stored product entomologists have dramatically declined at universities and federal centers, and federal centers have been closed.  Stored product pests account for substantial losses of food and other products, with significant threats from potential new introductions and emerging pest species.  Arthur identifies IPM approaches as a key research need, as well as research on basic biology, pest distribution in and around facilities, direct impacts on human health and integration of economics into management systems, distribution.  PDF.

05/20/11 Seven Reasons Why We Need Cooperative Extension in the 21st Century. This document, written by Jim Langcuster of Alabama Cooperative Extension, details seven reasons why, despite looming budget cuts, Cooperative Extension will continue to thrive in the twenty-first century. Extension provides public users in both rural and urban settings with beneficial, research-based information, resources and demonstrations. Cooperative Extension plays a crucial role in expanding awareness and adoption of IPM by providing both farmers and communities with valuable IPM resources.

05/18/11 View Abstracts of Previously Funded Section 406 Program Projects. Funding for important Section 406 programs including Crops at Risk (CAR), FQPA Risk Mitigation Program (RAMP) and the Critical Issues Program was completely eliminated in the 2011 budget bill. View abstracts for projects that were previously funded under the CAR, RAMP and Critical Issues Program.

05/16/11 Update on Federal Funding for Regional IPM Centers. Current understanding is that a competition is required for distribution of the one year of Regional IPM Centers funds and that successful applicants will probably budget to maintain operations (with the single year of funding and a potential no-cost one year extension). through August of 2013.

Good news for Regional IPM Centers. This month, Congress passed the 2011 budget bill, including a partial restoration of the Section 406 program funding. In past years, the Regional Pest Management Centers, the Methyl Bromide Transition Program,  the Organic Transition Program, Crops at Risk, the FQPA Risk Mitigation Program and the Critical Issues Programs have all been funded under Section 406.   

The 2011 budget bill restores funding to Regional Pest Management Centers, the Methyl Bromide Transition Program and  the Organic Transition Program. Unfortunately, along with several other national conservation programs, funding for these programs has been significantly reduced from last year's levels: Regional Pest Management Centers will be funded at $2,994,000 (reduced from $4,096,000 in FY 2010), the Methyl Bromide Transition Program  is reduced from $3,054,000 to $1,996,000 and the Organic Transition Program is reduced from $5,000,000 to $3,992,000.   

While these Section 406 programs will continue to operate with fewer funds in 2011, funding for Crops at Risk, the FQPA Risk Mitigation Program and Critical Issues Programs has been completely eliminated in the 2011 budget bill.  As 2012 quickly approaches,  we need to turn our attention to educating policymakers and others about the important benefits of IPM funding in the 2012 Farm Bill, where significant cuts to conservation programs are anticipated.   

IPM Voice is incorporated. IPM Voice has finalized the last steps of the incorporation process and as of Monday, March 14 is officially incorporated as a nonprofit corporation.

IPM Voice holds meeting in Alexandria. IPM Voice held a face to face meeting for Steering Committee and Advisory Board members on October 4th in Alexandria, VA. The meeting focused on developing a structure for governance, a plan for incorporation and a roadmap for advocating IPM within the upcoming months.

IPM Voice drafts letter to be sent to Senate and House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee members regarding funding cuts to Regional IPM Centers and programs. To view the letter, click the following link: Letter to Senate and House Ag Appropriations Subcommittees. This letter will be sent out in late August to reach the full subcommittee before the budget's final markup (scheduled for after the August break). If you would like to sign your name to the letter representing your organization, email Leigh Presley (info@ipmvoice.org) providing your first and last name as well as your affiliation.

IPM Voice distributes letter to IPM Stakeholders. In order to make those involved with IPM aware of the omission of funding for the USDA's Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Competitive Grants Program (often called "Section 406"), IPM Voice has drafted and sent out a letter to stakeholders. So far, the USDA has indicated that these funds will not be reserved within the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) for IPM projects. As a result, most of the funding will likely be used to support other topic areas.

You may view IPM Voice's letter to stakeholders by clicking on the link below

IPM Voice Letter to Stakeholders