IPM Institute News: IPM in the Marketplace
February 2006
Volume 7 Issue No. 1
Contents
I. "Eco
Apples" Gaining Marketplace Recognition
II.
Update: Fifth National IPM Symposium
III.
Two
Programs Aim to Educate Pesticide Retailers About IPM
IV.
West Point
Child
Development
Center
Awarded IPM STAR Certification
I.
“Eco
Apples” Gaining Marketplace Recognition
IPM
professionals know all too well that even basic IPM strategies
proven to reduce pesticide use and hazards can suffer from low
adoption. Added labor, cost or inconvenience can make some IPM
strategies impractical.
In 2005,
however, Red
Tomato, a Northeast non-profit food broker, worked to
overcome these barriers with premium pricing and access to new
markets, delivering $400,000 in sales of IPM-grown “Eco
Apples.”
“I was
very pleased by the reception among trade buyers. Several came to
see these apples as a unique product, and began referring to them
by name,” said Michael Rozyne managing director at Red Tomato.
To earn
the Eco Apple label, apples must be grown to a rigorous IPM
standard including required IPM practices, such as using
monitoring traps and action thresholds for insect pests. Growers
must also implement a minimum number of advanced practices and
avoid use of a list of most hazardous pesticides. Advanced
practices include controlling insect pests with traps, or sampling
orchard perimeters for wild host plants to estimate summer disease
pressure and need for fungicides.
In 2005,
six farms were inspected by independent third parties and
certified by the IPM Institute including:
- Alyson’s
Apple Orchard, Walpole, NH;
-
Clark
Bros. Orchard, Ashfield, MA;
- Lyman
Orchards, Middlefield, CT;
- Scott
Farm, Dummerston, VT;
- Stone
Ridge Orchard, Stone Ridge, NY; and
-
Sunrise
Orchards, Cornwall,
VT.
Red
Tomato specializes in targeting “eco-conscious” consumers and
building the infrastructure needed to connect local farmers to
these consumers. Red Tomato’s brokerage resulted in sales of
18,000 cases ($300,000) of Eco Apples in the program’s first
year. Growers independently sold an additional $100,000 in Eco
Apples direct to consumers or through existing trade
relationships.
Red
Tomato would like to see the number of participating growers
double in
New England
and the
Hudson
Valley
over the next year or two.
“The
first way I’d like to grow the program is by selling more of the
current growers’ crops,” said Rozyne. “At the same time,
thinking ahead, I’d like to begin identifying new growers who
can add breadth with unusual varieties and some weather protection
by having a more diverse geographic range within New England
and New
York.” Weather conditions can greatly
reduce or even eliminate an apple crop in any one year-hence the
desirability of geographic diversity.
The
collaboration plans to continue to refine the protocol and to
address persistent problem pests. For example, weather conditions
in 2005 were especially challenging for sooty blotch and fly
speck, two summer-season diseases that leave blemishes on fruit.
Pesticide application record-keeping practices will also be
improved to allow easier tracking and comparison of product
selection and rates.
Red
Tomato is funded largely in part by the EPA Region 1 Strategic
Agricultural Initiative Program, an anonymous private foundation,
members and supporters of the IPM Institute, and others.
II. Update:
Fifth National IPM Symposium
The Fifth
National IPM Symposium, “Delivering on a Promise” is almost
here. The event will
be held
April 4-6, 2006
at the Adams
Mark
Hotel
in St. Louis. The Symposium is an
opportunity for IPM professionals to share information, network,
and organize on key pest management issues.
Those who register for the Symposium between now and St.
Patrick’s Day,
March 17, 2006
can save a pot of gold with a reduced admission fee.
An optional trip to the St. Louis Zoo on Monday, April 3rd
is the first of many exciting events.
Guests can take small-group “behind-the-scenes” tours
of several exhibits, including the Monsanto Insectarium.
On Monday evening, Insectarium staff will present on their
endangered species conservation program.
IPM professionals from Orkin, which provides IPM services
to the facility, will also present on IPM at the zoo.
A BBQ dinner and cash bar will follow these presentations.
The opening plenary session begins Tuesday, April 4th
and includes presentations from
Craig Watson, VP/Quality Assurance and Agricultural
Sustainability of SYSCO Corp. and Debbie Raphael, Toxics Reduction
and Green Buildings Manager for the City and County
of
San Francisco. Breakout
sessions will cover a variety of topics including IPM outreach,
school IPM, whole farm IPM planning, residential IPM and much
more. Nearly 200
posters will also be on view.
Also at this year’s Symposium, a new “IPM Achievement Award”
will be presented to a select group of nominees who have
demonstrated exceptional success in implementing IPM in
agriculture, communities and other settings.
For more details, consult the
website http://www.ipmcenters.org/ipmsymposiumv/.
III.
Two
Programs Aim to Educate Pesticide Retailers About IPM
Our Water Our
World (OWOW) and the
University
of
Illinois’ Pesticide Retailer Education Project have the same goal: get
homeowners to use IPM by training pesticide retailers.
The Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (BASMAA)
of San Francisco,
CA, developed the OWOW program after finding pesticide-contaminated
surface waters not only near agricultural sites, but also
residential areas. To
promote less toxic and non-chemical alternatives, BASMAA began
working with stores already selling these products.
In most stores, alternatives were not available or
identified as such to customers.
Store owners welcomed help to increase sales of these
products once they were made aware of the environmental and health
concerns.
According to project coordinator Geoff Brosseau, OWOW provides
staff training, “shelf talkers,” which hang on store shelves
below less toxic products, and a set of 15 pest-specific fact
sheets placed in a display rack in the pesticide section of the
stores. The fact
sheets explain how to solve pest problems and also include water
quality information. County
and local government agency staff work to maintain the shelf
talkers and fact sheets.
The program is currently in more than 300 California
stores, including regional chains.
Sales of less toxic products are increasing by 2-15% while
sales of more toxic products are decreasing.
BASMAA welcomes inquiries from others who would like to replicate
the program. To learn
more, visit www.ourwaterourworld.org.
The University
of
Illinois’ Pesticide Retailer Education Project was created to address a
need for improved pesticide safety education.
A statewide survey found only one-third of retailers had
staff with any training on pesticide safety.
Less than 10% of retailers were aware of Extension fact
sheets as a source for pest and pesticide information.
With funding from US EPA, project staff led a series of free
educational sessions around the state for retailers.
An information packet was given to each retailer,
containing Extension fact sheets and a set of picture cards of
pests and beneficials titled “Good Guys, Bad Guys.”
Results of the effort are currently being analyzed and will be
presented by George Czapar, Extension IPM Educator, at the Fifth
National IPM Symposium, held at the Mark Adams Hotel,
St. Louis, MO
on
April 4-6, 2006. To learn more about
this Symposium session and other sessions, please visit the
Symposium website at www.ipmcenters.org/ipmsymposiumv/.
To find out more about the Illinois program, visit www.joe.org/joe/2004august/iw6.shtml.
IV. West
Point
Child
Development
Center
Awarded IPM STAR Certification
The Child Development Center (CDC) at
the U.S. Military Academy at
West Point
has been recognized for excellence in pest management.
The academy’s IPM program earned IPM STAR Certification,
the third such facility in the nation to win the honor.
The CDC benefits from professional IPM staff at the installation
who keep up on the latest research on animal behavior and
incorporate that information in their pest management strategies, “Jim
Beemer and Bill Grohoski do a great job tracking down critters of
all sizes and shapes,” according to Dr. Thomas Green, IPM
Institute president. “Pest” management at the installation has included rattlesnakes,
bears and even poachers.
“Cleanliness and upkeep were excellent,” said Green.
“The facility is inspected monthly for both food service
and general sanitation and maintenance, resulting in very few pest
problems and minimal use of pesticides.”
On-base staff are assisted by pest management professionals
from Alleymor Pestmasters, a local firm.
IPM STAR certification requires an on-site audit by an independent
IPM professional using a rigorous 45-point evaluation.
Learn more about IPM STAR certification at http://www.ipminstitute.org/ipmstar.htm.
