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IPM CAPs Benefit Crop Consultants:

• Creating new business relationships. Growers can receive financial assistance from NRCS to hire you to write an IPM CAP for their farm. While writing an IPM CAP is a one-time event, it can also foster a long-lasting working relationship between you and the grower.
  
  
• Raising conservation awareness among growers. As a certified TSP, you can help growers benefit from an on-site assessment and a written IPM conservation plan that identifies opportunities for protecting natural resources on or near their farm.

The Purpose of IPM CAPs:

• The CAP identifies ways your client can adopt or improve conservation practices, especially related to pest management.
  
  
  • I.e., an IPM CAP might plan to reduce or eliminate pesticide run-off risk to a nearby water body, high drift potential due to sprayer type or nozzle configuration, inefficient water use and more.
    
    
• IPM CAPs are created for growers by certified Technical Service Providers (TSPs). You can become certified to write IPM CAPs; more information below.
  
  
• The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers a 75% cost-share to growers for hiring a TSP to write an IPM CAP.
  

So where do you start?

1. Request that your state offer IPM CAPs. Contact your state NRCS office to determine if NRCS offers IPM CAPs in your state. If not, express your interest and support for the program. States must choose by December 18, 2009 which CAPs they will offer. Mail, email and/or fax a written request to your State Conservationist to offer IPM CAPs.
   
   
2. Become an IPM CAP-certified TSP. If your state offers IPM CAPs, you can become certified to write them. Individuals interested in becoming an IPM CAPs-certified TSP must receive training online through the NRCS's AgLearn website or through other training opportunities specific to CAPs, and pass a series of required exams.

   A IPM CAP-writer training workshop was held on January 19, 2010 in Orlando, Florida in conjunction with the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants annual meeting. For more information, visit the working group's Training page.
   

3. Register on TechReg. Once you complete the training and exams, register on TechReg, the NRCS online database of TSPs. Registering allows growers in your area who are interested in having a CAP prepared to find you.
   
   
4. Writing the IPM CAP, Collaboration. Each state NRCS office prioritizes their resource concerns. For example, California may focus more on air quality, Wisconsin more on nutrient management. CAP applications will be ranked and funded based on those priorities. Not all applications are accepted. A grower must apply and be accepted for NRCS funding before they hire you to write an IPM CAP.

   You may choose to write IPM CAPs on your own or through collaboration with colleagues in Extension, Conservation Districts, agriculture-related agencies, non-profits or businesses or University IPM or crop specialists. As the certified TSP, you must review and sign off on the final plan submitted to NRCS.

   In 2009, NRCS funded eight IPM CAP applications in California, distributing $13,500 in financial assistance. This success is largely attributed to the longstanding strong collaboration between California's NRCS, Extension and the Soil and Water Conservation District.

NEW: Sample IPM CAP

Crop Consultant Resources:
IPM CAPs certification training opportunities.

National IPM CAPs Working Group. Nov. 2009. Guide to Becoming an IPM CAP-Certified TSP. 3pp. (PDF)

National IPM CAPs Working Group. Request Letter to NRCS State Conservationist. Nov. 2009. 5pp. (doc) Containing:

• Introductory message regarding the need to support IPM CAPs in your state,
• letter of request to offer IPM CAPs to your state conservationist and
• NRCS state conservationist contact information, listed by state.

Natural Resources Conservation Service contact site to find your state NRCS office: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/organization/regions.html

Natural Resources Conservation Service TechReg website for current and prospective Technical Service Providers (TSPs): http://techreg.usda.gov/index.aspx

NRCS CAPs: An Opportunity for Agriculture and IPM. Oct. 2009. Full-length version of article in Crops and Soils Magazine Nov./Dec. edition. 2pp. (PDF) Updated version, Nov. 2009.