IPM is an approach to managing pests that protects health and the environment, and improves economic returns. IPM practitioners in agriculture and communities learn pest biology and use that knowledge to reduce pest control costs and hazards.

IPM relies on inspection and monitoring - to detect and correct conditions that can lead to pest problems. IPM practitioners act against pests only when necessary, and use the least-hazardous methods when action is needed.

The Institute's mission is to accelerate adoption of IPM in agriculture and communities by using the power of the marketplace: Consumers want to support suppliers of goods and services who work to preserve the environment and reduce health hazards.

For more information, visit www.ipminstitute.org. 

Eight sustainable agriculture programs requiring IPM of participants reported 40.4 million certified US acres and 375.7 million worldwide in 2011. These include the Food Alliance, Rainforest Alliance,  Forest Stewardship Council, Protected Harvest, Northeast Eco Apple, Central Coast Vineyard Team, Low Input Viticulture and Enology (LIVE) and Salmon Safe. Meats, dairy, fruits and vegetables, wine and cut flowers carry eco-labels from these programs, signifying that production was evaluated by independent third parties against specific criteria including IPM.

Food Alliance certifies meats, eggs, dairy, mushrooms, grains, legumes, a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and prepared products made with these certified ingredients. They currently certify over six million acres of range and farmland managed by more than 320 certified farms and ranches in Canada, Mexico and 23 US states. Food Alliance has also certified six distribution centers and 18 food processing facilities. They recently launched certification for oysters, clams, geoducks and mussels.

The Rainforest Alliance Certified seal can be found on IPM-produced goods grown outside the US, including cocoa, coffee, ferns and cut flowers, fruits and tea.  As of October 2011, there were 2.7 million total acres of Rainforest Alliance Certified farm and forest land and 260,112 farms, cooperatives and manufacturing facilities in 29 countries including Brazil, Ecuador, Honduras, Indonesia, Jamaica and Kenya.  In 2010, the Sustainable Agriculture Network - which sets the standards to which Rainforest Alliance Certified farms are audited - introduced a standard for sustainable cattle production.  The first two sugarcane farms, in Brazil and El Salvador, earned the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal in 2010.  In February 2011, the Rainforest Alliance launched Climate Module: Criteria for the Mitigation of and Adaptation to Climate Change, developed to promote good agricultural practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help farms adapt to climate change.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) accredited certifiers, including Rainforest Alliance, certified 599,216 US forest product acres in 2010, bringing the total certified acres to 34.3 million. Worldwide, the FSC has enrolled more than 367 million acres. In 2011, Kimberly-Clark's Kleenex and Scott Naturals brand products adopted FSC certification.

In 2010, Protected Harvest included approximately 4,600 certified acres of Wisconsin "Healthy Grown" Potatoes and, under "Lodi Rules," over 21,000 acres of certified California wine grapes. Thirteen wineries are bottling wine made from Lodi Rules certified wine grapes from the 2005 to 2010 vintages, and many include the Lodi Rules logo on the wine label. Protected Harvest also certifies California stone fruit including nectarines, peaches and plums under the Zeal brand, and mushrooms in California and Pennsylvania produced in Modern Mushroom facilities. They plan to add certification programs for tomatoes and dairy products in 2012.

The Northeast Eco Apple program, operated by Red Tomato, grew from 16 participating growers in 2010 to 22 in 2011, with 1,025 total participating acres. Eco Apple had 17 certified growers in 2011, with 798 total acres. Sales totaled $1.4 million in 2010 and $1.2 million in 2011. Red Tomato also began the Eco Stonefruit program in 2011, including peaches, plums, apricots and nectarines. The Eco Stonefruit program certified three growers and just over 84 acres in its first year.

The Central Coast Vineyard Team launched its Sustainability in Practice (SIP) vineyard certification program in 2008, beginning with 3,700 certified acres. There are currently 27,000 acres eligible for 2011 SIP certification. One-hundred forty vineyards are certified under the program, totaling over 300,000 cases of wine with the SIP seal. The SIP program certifies wine growers and vineyards throughout California, using a sustainability model that verifies the farmers' commitment to environmental stewardship, equitable treatment of employees and business sustainability. The program prohibits the use of high risk pesticides, and was recognized with awards from the EPA for IPM Innovation and a recent Green Award from the US Green Building Council.

Low-Input Viticulture and Enology, Inc. (LIVE) provides certification for vineyards and wineries using international standards of sustainable viticulture and enology practices in wine grape and wine production. In 2010, LIVE had a total of 183 certified vineyards and 30 certified wineries, including 7,905 vineyard acres and 16,759 farm acres. Two-hundred-twenty-four wines were certified, with a total of 729,408 cases of wine produced in certified wineries. LIVE certified wines must contain at least 97% LIVE-certified fruit. LIVE is also overseeing the development and administration of the Carbon Reduction Challenge, a certification program for Northwest wineries to promote a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Salmon Safe partners with LIVE and focuses on sustainability practices to keep urban and agricultural watersheds clean enough for native salmon to flourish. They have certified more than 60,000 acres of farm and urban lands throughout Oregon, Washington, California and British Columbia including vineyards, farms, corporate and university campuses, parks, golf courses, residential development and construction management. Salmon Safe and LIVE are currently working with the Food Alliance and Oregon Association of Nurseries to develop a nursery grower certification program.

For links to many of these programs and more information, visit http://www.ipminstitute.org/links.htm.

The Seventh International IPM Symposium, scheduled for March 27-29, 2012 in Memphis, Tennessee is quickly approaching. The 2009 Symposium attracted more than 700 research, education, government, industry and environmental and health professionals from 29 countries.

This year's event includes poster and breakout session presentations, as well as eight plenary speakers who will give presentations on IPM management, research, best practices and outreach. Breakout sessions include a diverse range of topics and have titles such as:  

• IPM Delivery: Got an App for That? 
• Plant Health Management in a Thirsty World  
• Bed Bugs and Book Bags: Using Classroom Curriculum to Reach the Community

Registration for the 2012 IPM Symposium opened earlier in January. For more information on the IPM Symposium, to register or to find out how you can contribute, visit www.ipmcenters.org/ipmsymposium12. The all-volunteer organizing committee includes more than 50 IPM professionals.

Sponsors and contributors to date include Monsanto, Sysco Corporation, Terminix International - TruGreen, Bell Laboratories, BioWorks, Dow Agro Sciences, Entomological Society of America's Plant Insect Ecosystem (P-IE) Section, Gylling Data Management, IRAC-US, J.T.Eaton Co., Natural Industries, Nisus Corporation, CLIMBUP Insect Interceptor, Marrone Bio Innovations, Syngenta, University of Tennessee, Department of Entomology at University of Minnesota, IPM CRSP at Virginia Tech, National Science Foundation Center for IPM, NIFA, the four Regional IPM Centers, The IR-4 Project, University of California Statewide IPM Program and US Forest Service.

Green Shield Certified® (GSC) is an award-winning, independent, non-profit certification program that promotes practitioners of effective, prevention-based pest control while minimizing reliance on pesticides. To become certified, companies must pass a rigorous 63-point, third-party, on-site evaluation. In 2011, GSC certified Springfield Hospital in Sykesville, MD, the first in its Green Shield Certified Platinum for Hospitals program.

GSC is available for facilities, programs and pest management companies, either for the entire company or just for particular IPM services provided to customers upon request. Currently, there are four companies that are certified for all pest management services:

• Environmentally Sound, Manhattan, NY
• Envirosafe, Wyoming, MI
• Green How Termite & Landscaping, Newton, MA
• PESTEC, San Francisco, CA

Thirty-two companies offer separate certified services as part of their pest control offerings:

• Aavon Pest Control, Stamford, CT
• Arrow Extermination, Long Island, NY
• Assured Environments, New York, NY
• Atlantic Pest Solutions Companies, Kennebunkport, ME
• Batzner Pest Management, New Berlin, WI
• Black Widow Termite and Pest Control, Valley Stream, NY
• Bullfrog Pest Management, Inc., Hicksville, NY
• Colby Pest Control Service, Fullerton, CA
• Colonel Exterminating Service, Mount Vernon, NY
• Colony Pest Management, Brooklyn, NY
• Diehard Exterminating, New York, NY
• Eden Advanced Pest Technologies, Olympia, WA
• Ehrlich/Rentokil, Long Island, NY
• Elite Pest Management, Roseville, MI
• Express Pest Control, McKinney, TX
• GM Pest Control, New York, NY
• J.C. Ehrlich Pest Control - Albany Branch, Albany, NY
• Key Environmental Pest Control, Ridgewood, NJ
• Magic Exterminating, Flushing, NY
• Nozzle Nolen, West Palm Beach, FL
• Parkway Exterminating, New Hyde Park, NY
• Peachtree Pest Control, Norcross, GA
• Pestco, Pittsburgh, PA
• Pest Elimination Systems Technology, Brooklyn, NY
• R Dana Pest Control, New Haverstraw, NY
• Smithereen Pest Management, Niles, IL
• Suburban Exterminating, Smithtown, NY
• Superior Pest Elimination, Long Island, NY
• Team Too Termite & Pest Control, Corona, CA
• Verrazano Exterminating, Mount Sinai, NY
• Western Exterminator Company, Anaheim, CA
• Witt Pest Management, Pittsburgh, PA

Three facilities, including Springfield Hospital, have received certification:

• Goldman Sachs building, Jersey City, NJ
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) office, Santa Monica, CA
• Springfield Hospital, Sykesville, MD

Two programs, the New York City Rat Indexing Initiative and the University of Florida Residential Housing program, have also achieved certification. Operated by the New York City Health Department, the Rat Indexing Initiative was developed to proactively control rodent populations in the city block-by-block. Trained inspectors use handheld devices and mapping technology to inspect specific areas of the city. They provide property owners with recommendations on exclusion and sanitation practices to reduce the rat population, and owners are given two weeks to correct the problems noted by the inspectors. From December 2007 through July 2009, 29,994 properties in the Bronx were inspected three times by the Health Department. In that time period, the percentage of infested properties dropped from 10% to 5%, a decrease of 1,460 properties with signs of rats.

The University of Florida Department of Housing and Residence Education (DOHRE) implemented IPM in their graduate student and family housing units because of the children living in these units. DOHRE began by developing and distributing IPM materials to residents and providing "IPM Cleaner Solution" bottles with instructions on how to mix a soapy water solution to "clean up" ant pheromone recruitment trails. DOHRE also dealt with a major rodent issue in a residence hall by using exclusion and trapping. The problem was solved without rodenticides and the rodents have not returned. The DOHRE pest control budget has been reduced by over 50% since the implementation of IPM and resident satisfaction surveys have shown a steadily increasing approval rate.

More information on the companies participating in Green Shield Certified is available at www.greenshieldcertified.org.  

For more information on Green Shield Certified, visit www.greenshieldcertified.org or contact us at 888-GRN-SHLD (476-7453) or info@greenshieldcertified.org.

Consumer awareness and support for IPM practitioners in agriculture and communities is essential to increase adoption of IPM. With your support, we can continue our work to build credible, verifiable IPM certification and recognition programs for farmers, pest management professionals and public and private institutions. Help get the word out! IPM works!

As a supporter of the IPM Institute, you will:

• receive the IPM Institute electronic newsletter IPM in the Marketplace;
• stay informed about the latest developments in IPM certification and labeling;
• learn about IPM certified producers and practitioners in your area; and
• support growth of public awareness and support for IPM!

• Fill out the secure form here.
• Send us an e-mail with your mailing address and we will bill you.
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Contact Information

IPM Institute of North America, Inc.

4510 Regent Street

Madison, WI 53705

608.232.1410

www.ipminstitute.org