Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Minutes of SERA003 Meeting, Drury Inn Riverwalk Hotel, San Antonio, TX, March 19-21, 2007. Chairman Tom Fuchs called the meeting to order at 1:15 pm on March 19, 2007. The first order of business was to introduce Tom Fuchs (Chairman), Norm Leppla (Chairman-elect) and Pat Parkman (substituting as Secretary for Henry Fadamiro who could not attend the meeting). The meeting began with reports from two SRIPMC grant recipients from Texas A&M University. Pete Teel spoke on analyzing cattle feces using near infrared reflection spectroscopy to determine effects on cattle by ticks; and on identifying and using tick pheromones for pest management. Allen Knutsen gave a presentation on a network for predicting pest activity in pecans, specifically using pheromone trapping and economic thresholds for the pecan nut casebearer. The actual business meeting began with a review of the minutes of the last meeting in St. Louis, especially the Action Items (minutes posted on the NIMMS website, http://cipm.ncsu.edu/ent/Southern_Region/SERAIEG/). Bob McPherson moved that the minutes be approved as read, Clayton Hollier seconded the motion and it passed. ACTION ITEM: Pat Parkman was nominated as SERA003 Secretary by Norm Leppla, the nomination was seconded by Clayton Hollier. Clarence Collison moved that nominations be closed and Pat was elected unanimously. ACTION ITEM: Tom Fuchs proposed that Ames Herbert be reappointed to the SRIPMC Steering Committee. The motion was made by Norm Leppla and seconded by Clayton Hollier, and was approved unanimously. ACTION ITEM: Jim Van Kirk suggested that a researcher should be added to the SRIPMC Advisory Committee. Tom Fuchs proposed that Carlos Bogran be appointed to the Advisory Committee. Norm Leppla nominated Carlos and was seconded by Clayton Hollier. Doug Johnson moved that nominations be closed and was seconded by Clarence Collison. Carlos was appointed unanimously Tom Fuchs presented highlights of the ECOP/ESCOP Joint National IPM Committee and IPM Center Director's Meeting in Crystal City, VA on October 3 and 4, 2006. Updates were provided by Jim Jones, EPA Office of Pesticide Policy (OPP priorities), Mike Fitzner, CSREES (hiring of Marty Draper, eXtension); Kitty Cardwell, CSREES (IPM PIPE) and others. (See attached file for meeting summary.) Doug Johnson spoke on collecting data from human subjects in research. He found that, if in the course of a project, humans are asked questions, such as in a survey, this is considered using human subjects and must be reported to USDA as such. Exempt from this are 1) normal educational practices; 2) research involving survey procedures, interviews or observations; and 3) collection of existing data. But exemptions must be determined by the institution, such as a universitys Internal Review Board, and not the researcher. Norm Leppla distributed to IPM Coordinators a survey on the keys to a successful state IPM program to determine the status of the regions programs, and for use by IPM Coordinators to assess their respective programs (attached). Norm described his successful program at the University of Florida. Doug Johnson noted that many universities focus on commodities and IPM does not get the recognition it deserves because it is not a commodity. The meeting re-convened on March 20 at 8:20 am and began with a Southern Region IPM priorities development session led by Chris Boleman (Extension Program Development Specialist) and Kyle Merten of Texas A&M University. Thirty five research priorities and 30 extension priorities were initially identified by meeting participants. Priorities then were ranked by each participant. Top priorities were validated by participants in the form of a survey using an agreement-type Likert Scale. A final report was provided to Tom Fuchs for distribution to IPM Coordinators after the meeting (via email on April 5). After input and approval from Coordinators, Fuchs issued a final version of the priorities. See http://neipmc.org/ipm_news_popover.cfm?id=2320 for list of priorities. Jim Van Kirk gave an update on the SRIPM Center. The SRIPMC received 35 proposals for the Regional IPM grants program (RIPM); eight were fully funded, two were partially funded. A reporting system for the Enhancement grants program is being developed. The first annual report for the SRIPMC was developed containing a success story from each state. Ron Stinner will begin a phased retirement in July 2007. An assistant director for the SRIPMC has been hired. North Carolina State University will submit a proposal to USDA to continue to house the SRIPMC. Jim currently allocates 50% of his time to the PIPE. The PIPE (Pest Information Platform for Education and Extension) is being expanded to include commodities other than soybeans, e.g., pulses (beans and peas). Jim presented Walmarts and SYSCO Corporations efforts to promote the use of IPM as an example of IPM becoming more prevalent in the marketplace. Development of a national School IPM strategic plan has been facilitated by SRIPMC. The 2008 RIPM grants program should be funded at 2007 levels, but Enhancement grants may offer less funding for applicants. Bill Coli of the University of Massachusetts gave a presentation on the process of developing IPM priorities and implementing programs based on the priorities. Emphasis was placed on measuring impacts of programs: knowledge changes of the target audience in the near-term, behavioral changes in the medium term and long-term, or condition change (e.g., profitability of production is improved through adoption of IPM). Logic models can be used to develop priorities, follow progress and measure impacts. Marty Draper was introduced as the new contact at CSREES for the Smith-Lever 3(d) program. He gave an update on CSREES, including personnel changes the National Resources Conservation Services interest in IPM, and the federal budget. In the proposed Farm Bill, there is a significant increase in funding for conservation programs, e.g. EQIP. Because NRCS has an interest in using and promoting IPM to increase adoption of conservation practices, Extension should build alliances with NRCS. Federal funding increases also are expected for organic and specialty crops. Draper doubted that the proposed merger of CSREES and ARS would result in significant changes. In the proposed FY08 budget, additional funding was provided to the national IPM initiative (e.g., CAR and RAMP programs and the IPM Centers) and a small increase (8%) is proposed for the S-L 3(d) program. Draper spoke about the expanded PIPE program. Jim Van Kirk added that IPM Coordinators could get access to the private PIPE website through their SRIPMC state contact. Pat Parkman gave a presentation on the SRIPMC-hosted 1890-1862 Collaboration Forum held in Indianapolis in September 2006. In the following discussion, Tom Royer said that he developed a new collaboration with his 1890 counterpart because of the Forum. Norm Leppla mentioned his close collaboration with his counterpart at Florida A&M Univ. Rosemary Hallberg added that more details on the Forum could be found in the fall 2006 SRIPMC newsletter (Southern Exposure) http://www.sripmc.org/NewsAlerts/newsletter/Fall06.pdf . Steve Toth provided highlights from the SRIPMCs state contact meeting. This year it was combined with the Southern Plant Diagnostic Network meeting. At the meeting a grant-writing seminar was held. Mike Linker, State IPM Coordinator for North Carolina retired and Ed Jones is handling his duties until a permanent replacement is recruited next January. Mike was a member of the Crop Science Department but the new coordinator may be from another department. Pat Parkman spoke on strengthening IPM programs emphasizing the acquisition of extramural funding. He noted that at the University of Tennessee, where he serves as the IPM Coordinator, this is imperative as the IPM Coordinator position is not supported financially by the administration. There was much discussion on school IPM programs, especially their acceptance in several states. The days meeting wrapped up with discussion on next years meeting place, posting of priorities we developed earlier that day and how many priorities should be posted. Norm Leppla, the next chairman of SERA003, will investigate hosting our next annual meeting in the Caribbean, e.g., U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico or Florida. This will give the IPM Coordinators from St. Croix and Puerto Rico an opportunity to participate and be more involved in the Information Exchange Group. The meeting re-convened on March 21 at 8:08 am with further discussion on the priorities, especially the inclusion of livestock pests. State Reports: Tennessee (Pat Parkman)- S-L3(d)-funded programs included cotton and soybeans, household and structural, child-serving facilities and imported fire ant management. Of growers surveyed, 35% said the cotton IPM information supplied by UT saved them $50/acre. A total of 111 pest management professionals were trained in household and structural IPM. Additionally, 150 IPM workshops were presented to child care workers and school pest management decision-makers. Other information was provided on the fire ant management program and IPM Coordinator activities. (See attached handout.) Florida (Norm Leppla)- Norm distributed his IPM programs 5-year report and mentioned that branding and recognition is important to give administrators recognition and to let the public know whom to contact within the IPM program. His program distributes about $100,000 annually in minigrants, but Norm mentioned that he is not satisfied with current methods of measuring impact and benefits. The students in the Universitys Doctor of Plant Medicine program have proven invaluable to his IPM program. (http://ipm.ifas.ufl.edu, http://dpm.ifas.ufl.edu). Louisiana (Clayton Hollier)- Clayton is developing a pocket guide to soybean diseases and has launched an IPM website, IPM Louisiana http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/crops_livestock/crops/Integrated_Pest_Management/ . He is considering ways to increase recognition of IPM in Louisiana, including developing an IPM Center of Excellence System such as those in Oregon and California. Mississippi (Clarence Collison)- There are 4 basic IPM programs at Mississippi State: greenhouse tomato, cotton, soybean and sweet potato. At least 8 cotton scouting schools are held each spring; stink bugs and spider mites are becoming important cotton pests. Except for 2 or 3 hotspots, the boll weevil has been eradicated from Mississippi. The Soybean Management by Application of Research and Technology (SMART) program involves 21 growers who have increased production by >17 bushels/acre using university recommendations. Soybean rust is monitored in 17 sentinel plots, 26 producer plots and at the 21 SMART sites. The sweet potato program is in its 4th year; flea beetles and cucumber beetles are most important pests. Oklahoma (Tom Royer)- The Glance and Go Greenbug sampling program has been linked to the areawide cereal aphid management program. A training manual for the sampling program was developed for county Extension agents. An IPM team is one of the Initiative teams formed at OSU to bring Extension and research personnel together. An initial priority of the IPM team is to determine stakeholder priorities based on grower surveys. Other SL 3(d)-supported programs include grapes and pecan IPM, rotational grazing, integrated brush control, school IPM, and the state imported fire ant coordinator. Don Murray, OSU weed scientist, provided information on the Pesticidal and Economic Environmental Tradeoffs (PEET) system which, among other things, provides estimates on pest control costs. It is operational for weed management in peanuts and cotton, but will be expanded to include arthropod pests and plant pathogens. Texas (Tom Fuchs)- S-L 3(d) funds support 21 Extension agent/IPM positions dealing mainly with row crops. Ca. 300 research/demonstration projects were conducted. Ninety-four percent of row-crop growers surveyed indicated that IPM increased profits by an average of >$34/acre. A statewide real time prediction map for pecan nut casebearer was developed. One-half of IPM Coordinators in 1036 School districts were trained in school IPM. The IPM internship program has, to date, trained 59 interns from 9 universities. (See attached handout.) South Carolina (Francis Reay-Jones)- The IPM program awarded a total of $52,409 for research/extension projects during 2006/07. Copies of a new publication, Identification and management of Common Boll-Feeding Bugs in Cotton, were provided. Highlights were presented for the following areas/commodities: urban, peaches, cotton, honey bees, school IPM, organic systems, and switchgrass. Of particular note: the identification of fungicide-resistant populations of M. fructicola and resulting amended treatment recommendations for peaches has saved growers millions of dollars; treatment thresholds were developed for stink bugs in cotton; IPM curriculum was developed for 4th and 5th grades and is available for schools to implement; 12 county Extension agents completed organic certification and inspection training and can now assist growers in transitioning to organic production; and research was begun on identification and management of insect and nematode pests of switchgrass. Kentucky (Doug Johnson)- All S-L 3(d) funds for Kentucky are used by the IPM Coordinator and some of the funds are used to support an assistant. The funding has not increased for many years, so it is declining due to inflation. Working groups of as many as 25 members have been formed around IPM grants, some lasting 3 years. The crops involved are corn, soybeans, small grains, and vegetables. Kentucky has a very strong ornamental IPM program and also has IPM in its Master Gardner program. There are problems with IPM evaluation, branding of the IPM contributions, and obtaining information for reports. Georgia (Bob McPherson)- One of the most important IPM programs is on beekeeping, including efforts to control the Varroa mite by breeding for resistance. As in the report last year, IPM for field crops is continuing. The meeting was adjourned at about 12:00 pm. Respectfully submitted, Pat Parkman, for Henry Fadamiro Secretary SERA003