Internal newsletter of the Northeastern Pest Management Center.
Issue 5, November 2001
Northeast
- NE PMC Steering Committee
- NE PMC web pages
- Cranberry PMSP draft online
- Information Network Projects updates:
- IPM Commodity Working Groups
- Process to fund work on CWG priorities
- Progress reports from the CWGs
- CD-ROM Format for New England Pest Management Guide
National
The NE PMC Steering Committee met via conference call on October 30. Eight members participated. The committee received a progress report on NE PMC activities and an update on national developments. Among the decisions made are:
- The NE PMC annual meeting will be held in March - specific date to be announced - in the Baltimore area.
- IPM Commodity Working Groups will have the opportunity to apply for support from a fund pool of $12,000 - $22,000. Center staff will develop and release a Request for Applications soon. Only NE PMC IPM Commodity Working Groups will be eligible to apply. CWGs may apply for support of projects that will address the regional priorities of the commodity / setting. Funded projects could include, but are not limited to, pest management use surveys, crop profiles, pest management strategic plans. The due date for proposals will be January 15, 2002. Funding will likely be awarded to at least two but less than six CWGs.
New logos: Elaine Gotham of the New York State Ag. Experiment Station Communications Department has tinkered with the logo design for NE PMC as well as those for the other three regions. We're still working out the details, but the design is nearly ready to put into use on web sites, letterhead, etc. You can view the new logos for all four regional centers at http://nepmc.org/logos/logos.htm
The Cranberry PMSP comment period was extended and several reviewers have been providing suggestions. The next step is for Matt Pitts of the cranberry Institute to develop the final PMSP, to be submitted and posted.
(provided by Bill Hoffmann)
The Pennsylvania Pest Management Information Center has engaged in the following activities since it's October report.
The center provided information to the Office of Pest Management Policy (OPMP) regarding Di-Syston use on wheat and thiophanate-methyl use on grapes. Center personnel polled industry and extension officials to determine potential impacts of the loss of these uses and shifting use patterns due to present and future regulatory actions.
Center personnel prepared regulatory update presentation resources that will be distributed to Penn State extension educators. A PowerPoint presentation specifically tailored to agronomic grower audiences will be formally presented to county extension agents with agronomic responsibilities on November 14th. Also under development are similar presentations tailored to vegetable producers and green industry pesticide applicators. All such resources will be downloadable from the world wide web when completed.
Ongoing communications to stakeholders regarding regulatory and registrant actions continued in the form of electronic updates and submissions to stakeholder newsletters.
TopAdvisory Committee: The first meeting will be held November 16th at the Cook Campus Center. Project Leader George Hamilton has invited 32 participants, including representatives of agrochemical companies, grower associations, pest control operators, farm groups and cooperatives, state agencies, local government, environmental groups, cooperative extension, and university research.
Peach Pest Management Strategic Plan: Peter Shearer will lead the work group to develop a peach PMSP. First draft is scheduled for completion by March 2003.
TopThe public announcement of New England's web site will occur later this month. The title of this sub-center is Pro New England and involves 6 states: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
Process to fund work on CWG priorities
The NE PMC Steering Committee has devised a mechanism for distribution of the funds earmarked to address CWG priorities. See details in the Steering Committee section of this issue. Key date: January 15 for submission of proposals by CWGs.
Progress reports from the CWGs
The Public Health CWG, led by Jody Gangloff-Kaufman (NY IPM) and Howard Ginsberg (URI) has about 8 members signed up and ready to go. This is particularly impressive because many potential members (e.g. CDC, state Depts. of Health) are so busy with work related to the Sept. 11 attack and the subsequent anthrax issue.
Margaret Skinner and Paula Shrewsbury of the Greenhouse and Ornamentals CWG have recruited much of the membership for a group which may christen itself GO-IPM (it took me a minute to figure out that this is an acronym). Margaret has also developed a nice overview of the group's goals which other CWGs might find useful.
Peter Shearer and Dave Handley of the Fruit CWG have reported considerable success in recruiting members, particularly on the tree fruit side.
The Livestock & Field Crops CWG, led by Dennis Calvin and Keith Waldron, has recruited about half of its projected membership.
At a recent meeting of tree fruit extension and research
specialists from the northeastern US and Canada, a member of the
University of Massachusetts Fruit IPM Team presented a new
format for conveying the information normally contained in printed
guides. The presentation grew out of a small grant from the New
England Extension Consortium received by the the UMass group,
in collaboration with other fruit extension workers from each of the
New England states.
The grant funded a pilot project to put all of the text and photos
from the current (2000-2001) version of the NEAPMG in digitally
compressed format, and with a "photos first, text second"
organization. According to Bill Coli, Massachusetts IPM
Coordinator and tree fruit IPM Specialist who gave the presentation,
most printed guides are very linear in format, and are normally
dominated by text, rather than photos. Often, what photos are
present are grouped on a few pages to save printing costs. The
result is that the images are disconnected from the other
information about the pests and their management. In addition,
printed guides often are out of date as soon as they are printed,
due to improved understanding about pest biology, new or improved
monitoring techniques, and most often, changes in pesticide labels
This new format is anticipated to be a more intuitive method for
users to find the information they are seeking, and, since the Mini
CD-ROMs can be interactive over the web, users can be sent
effortlessly to web sites containing updates or supplemental
information.
A key part of the project involved contracting with Instant Media
Inc., a Rhode Island based software development and web page
enhancement company to enable use of their proprietary software
and hardware and other expertise to get the job done. Working
closely with UMass specialists, Instant Media took the digital
version of the Guide content formatted in Page Maker, converted it
to over 1,400 pages of HTML, and, more importantly compressed it
dramatically to fit on the Mini CD-ROM, but with no loss of
resolution or quality. According to Coli, over 400 megabytes of
content was compressed to just under 50 Mgs.
Although the New England collaborators will wait and see the
results of grower testing of the new format before deciding whether
to deliver the new guide this way, Coli feels that the benefits of cost
savings, ease of use (even for naive computer users), the ability to
conduct rapid and low-cost updates, and the ability to send users
to web sites in a point and click fashion are strong reasons to
move away from the older delivery methods.
For anyone interested in learning more, or seeing the new
format, please go to the following site:
(http://www.instantmedia.com/orchard), or contact Bill Coli
wcoli@umext.umass.edu
For azinphos-methyl, 28 crop uses are being canceled, seven crop uses are being phased out over four years, and eight crop uses will be allowed to continue for another four years. Prior to the expiration of the four year period, the EPA will conduct a comprehensive review of these eight crop uses, based on the latest seven (sic) scientific information, to determine if it should continue to allow registration.
Azinphos-methyl is registered by Bayer AG and Makhteshim-Agan Industries. The crop uses being phased out in four years include those for: almonds, tart cherries, cotton, cranberries, peaches, pistachios, and walnuts; the crops with time limited registrations include: apples/crab apples, blueberries, sweet cherries, pears, pine seed orchards, brussels sprouts, cane berries, and the use of azinphos-methyl by nurseries for quarantine requirements.
For phosmet, three uses are being canceled, nine crops are being authorized for use under specific terms for five years, and 33 crops are being approved for continued use. The new measures on phosmet are being implemented under an agreement with the registrant, Gowan Co.
The three voluntary cancellations include use on: domestic pets, household ornamentals, and household fruit trees; phosmet, however, is not often used for these applications. Phosmet will be authorized for use for five years on a group of nine crops: apples, apricots, blueberries, crab apples, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears and plums/dried plums.
"The new measures announced today on azinphos-methyl and phosmet will help decrease pesticide exposure and provide additional health protection for agricultural workers," said Stephen Johnson, EPA assistant administrator for prevention, pesticides and toxic substances. "New health effects monitoring of agricultural workers will be required to determine if it is necessary to impose additional restrictions. Today's decision also provides time for farmers to make the transition to safer alternatives for the uses that are critical for crop production."
The Farm Service Agency's (FSA) Quality Loss Program for Apples and Potatoes (QLP-AP) compensates farmers who suffered at least a 20 percent loss in 1999 and/or 2000-year apple or potato crop quality due to weather-related disasters. Funding for this program is limited to $38 million. Signup begins August 13, 2001. The ending date for signup has not yet been set. This information is from a USDA fact sheet on the program.
USDA/CSREES has released a letter stating its intention to support continuation of the current regional structure for pest management centers.
A DRAFT national pest management roadmap has been developed that includes the objectives shown below. Review by stakeholders and subsequent revisions are starting up now, including a national stakeholder workshop very soon. Information network project leaders and IPM coordinators have been solicited for nominations to attend this workshop.
Objectives included in the DRAFT Roadmap
- 1. improve farm profitability and agricultural sustainability,
- 2. minimize non-target impacts,
- 3. eliminate unacceptable residues in food commodities,
- 4. enhance pest management options for functional recreation, roadside, right of way, and native habitats, and
- 5. implement community based programs for residential, school, public, and the work place.
The Southern Region PMC plans to hold its first annual meeting in the Orlando area on November 6 and 7.
Insider is sent to NE PMC Advisory Council members; NE PMC Information Network project leaders; NE PMC IPM Commodity Working Group members; IPM Coordinators in the Northeast; subscribers to PMC-L. Email Jim or Liz to offer submissions or suggest changes.
Jim VanKirk, Coordinator 315-787-2378 jrv1@cornell.edu
topJohn Ayers, Director 814-865-7776 (voice) email
Liz Thomas, Information Specialist 315-787-2626 egt3@cornell.edu
This page created November 1, 2001
Centers for Pest Management are sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture
This page developed and managed by Jim VanKirk, NE PMC Coordinator