Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

1. The committee prepared and approved a position paper (see attachment), "IPM Implementation through USDA Conservation Programs: A Proposed Partnership in Education and Financial Incentives" 2. The committee began a process to develop regional IPM research and extension priorities; this will be finalized at the 2008 annual meeting. Identifying regional priorities for research and extension activities can facilitate development of competitive grant proposals aimed at addressing these priorities. 3. Innovative IPM program activities were reported by committee members from South Dakota, Minnesota and Michigan. Results from a NC IPM Center grant funded project, Corn Earworm Insecticide Resistance Monitoring: A Multi-State Network, Erik Burkness and Bill Hutchison were presented. The researchers developed a multi-state network to verify the presence of insecticide resistance in corn earworms, an important pest of sweet corn in the upper midwest. A better understanding of the occurrence of insecticide resistance can reduce losses to growers and reduce unnecessary insecticide applications. An innovative aspect of this project was utilizing a web-based reporting system to develop multi-state public/private network of cooperators. 4. The committee discussed possible topics for regional publications for which states may not have local expertise. Several such topics were identified, including, stored grain pest management, and livestock insect management. The committee will work to identify appropriate experts to develop publications, or identify existing publications from outside the region to address this need.