IPM Voice Newsletter                               June 2017
In This Issue: APLU Petitions for $200 Million Increased Funding for USDA-NIFA Programs in FY2018; Study Examines Effects of Landscape Characteristics on Insecticide Use; Open Access Guide to Stink Bug IPM Now Available

ALERT! 2018 IPM Symposium IPM Achievement Award Nominations Due June 5th*
(*Correction: Deadline extended to June 30, 2017.)

 
Know a heroic IPM practitioner?  The 9th International IPM Symposium is coming to Baltimore, Maryland on March 19-22, 2018 and the deadline to nominate someone for the Symposium's IPM Achievement Awards is this Monday, June 5* (*Correction: extended to June 30). The Awards recognize practitioners for excellence in work towards IPM adoption, implementation and maintaining programs. Four award categories include the Lifetime Achievement, IPM Practitioner, IPM Team/Group Program/Project/Organization, and Graduate Student awards.

Winners of the awards will be offered the chance to submit an article at no cost to the Journal of Integrated Pest Management for a special International IPM Symposium edition. Each winner will also be offered the chance to present their story during an IPM Symposium session. Please visit the Symposium site for more information or to nominate someone.
APLU Petitions for $200 Million Increased Funding for USDA-NIFA Programs in FY2018
 
The Budget and Advocacy Committee of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities' (APLU) Board on Agriculture Assembly has asked the federal government for a $200 million increase in funding for the six key programs of the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) in fiscal year 2018. This is the first time the APLU has pursued a major increase in USDA-NIFA's six core IPM funding lines, which include the 1890s Extension and Smith-Lever lines covering Extension activities, and the McIntire-Stennis, Evans-Allen, Hatch Act and Agriculture & Food Research Initiative (AFRI) lines covering research and education programs. 2017 is unique in that Congress plans to simultaneously consider and decide the federal appropriations budget for both the remainder of 2017 and for 2018, in the same session.

The APLU request cites the crucial role America's public land-grant institutions play in teaching agriculture, conducting research and providing information to the public via Extension activities. APLU advocates for increased funding to keep pace with growing challenges regionally, nationally and internationally.

Land-grant capacity programs (McIntire-Stennis, Evans-Allen, Hatch Act, Smith Lever and 1890s Extension) provide funding for land-grant universities to employ the educators, scientists and field agents who conduct university research and Extension activities. AFRI is the United States' flagship competitive grant program for Farm Bill priorities, supporting research, education and Extension activities across six categories. AFRI was created in 2008 with the passage of the farm bill - in fiscal year 2015, 2694 applications were received, 1453 of which were reviewed and recommended for funding consideration. Collectively, these six funding lines support diverse projects in food, agricultural and forestry research, science-based education, plant health and production, animal health and production, food safety, nutrition, and bioenergy, and help address the needs of underserved communities.

APLU's request emphasizes that funding for these key programs has not kept pace with demand or inflation over the years, and increased funding is needed to meet challenges and compete with international investments and performance.

For more on the APLU request, including the exact amounts requested for each of the six key funding lines, please see their one-page summary document and talking points for advocates intending to contact their legislators.

Study Examines Effects of Landscape Characteristics on Insecticide Use
 
 A new study by researchers at the University of California-Santa Barbara is the first of its kind to analyze the connection between insecticide use and landscape characteristics on large tracts of agricultural land. From 2005 to 2013, using data from 13,000 fields, the researchers analyzed how crop diversity, field size and cropland extent impacted overall use of insecticides. The scientists reported higher crop diversity and smaller field size were associated with less pesticide use. Large mono-culture fields experienced greater pesticide use. The authors reasoned that this is likely due to a lack of natural predators in these fields for the pests.

Results varied based on crop. For example, crop diversity in fields of table grapes substantially reduced the amount of insecticide necessary, but not in orange groves or carrot fields.

The authors underscore that a data set of this size and scope has not previously been analyzed for these variables, and that their study renders a fine-scale understanding of how these landscape characteristics impact pesticide use. To read the study, visit Phys.org or the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Open Access Guide to Stink Bug IPM Now Available
 
 The Journal of Integrated Pest Management (JIPM), an open-access publication of the Entomological Society of America (ESA), has released a guide to stink bug IPM in the Midwestern US that offers methods for identification of different species, biological profiles including life cycles and behavior, and advice on how to monitor and manage the pests. The authors intend this guide as a comprehensive review of existing research on stink bug management in an easy-to-digest format for Midwestern growers.

Stink bugs are notorious for feeding on corn during all developmental stages, and for feeding on pods and developing seeds of soybeans. They are generalists that will move between multiple crops and wild plants throughout the year. The guide offers specific scouting methods, economic thresholds for management action, and discusses insecticide classes suited for individual species. The guide also includes an index of additional resources for growers.

To read the guide, Identification, Biology, Impacts, and Management of Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) of Soybean and Corn in the Midwestern United States, please visit the Journal of Integrated Pest Management.

An open-access review of the chemical ecology of brown marmorated stink bug has also recently been published, available here.

Join IPM Voice or Renew Your Membership!
Renew your IPM Voice membership for 2017 (or become a new member) and check out our  donation options by visiting ipmvoice.org/join.

Upcoming IPM-Related Meetings and Conferences
 
June 25-30, 2017 World Congress on Parasitic Plants Pacific Grove, CA
January 29 - February 1, 2018 Weed Science Society of America Arlington, VA
March 19-22, 2018 Ninth International IPM Symposium  Baltimore, MD 
IPM Voice is an independent non-profit organization that seeks to make IPM intelligible and valuable to the world including to the public, the grower community and lawmakers.  Our core purpose is to strengthen IPM communities by adding effective communication to the IPM toolbox.  IPM Voice was formed in 2010 by more than 35 professionals working to expand the benefits IPM has provided to agriculture and communities for more than 40 years.
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