Attendees: Paul Backman (AL), David Bridges (GA), Clarence Collison (MS), Jon Edelson (OK), Mike Fitzner (USDA CSREES), Tom Fuchs (M, Charles Hadden (TM, Robin Huettel (USDA CSREES), Anthony Keinath (SQ, Mike Linker (NC), Gus Lorenz (AR), Randy Luttrell (MS), Russ Mizell (FL), Bobby Pass (KY), Carroll Southards (TN), Ron Stinner (NC), David Teem (AL), Geoff Zehnder (AL)
Meeting started at 8:30 AM on March 13.
David Teem gave a brief history of SERA-EEG IPM, and expressed the need for a broader interdisciplinary representation in the group. Also that requirements should be increased for IPM research funding accountability.
Ron Stinner (Chair) read minutes of 1996 meeting.
Mike Fitzner (USDA IPM Program Leader) gave an update on the USDA IPM Initiative, and indicated that the Initiative was still a top priority in USDA- The President's budget recommends an increase of $12.2 million in support of the Initiative and an 'increase of $5. 0 million for IPM related programs. Mike Fitzner reiterated the importance of communicating with key legislators, particularly those on Ag. Appropriations committees, to express support for IPM programs. He asked us also to solicit letters of support from Deans of Agriculture, the environmental community, and from key ag groups and farmers. Mike indicated that USDA CREES had a good group of people on their IPM team, and recently added Robin Huettel, Program leader for Entomology and Nematology. CSREES has initiated an IPM seminar series (held monthly in D.C.) which they hope will increase awareness of IPM and related issues. The proceedings from the 1996 IPM Symposium/Workshop is in press and will be mailed to Symposium attendees. Copies of the proposed FY 1988 President's Budget for USDA were distributed.
Robin Huettel (USDA Entomology/Nernatology Program leader) indicated that the USDA Research Education and Extension (REE) committee met recently, and discussed the idea of increasing the proportion of USDA funding for competitive grants which would mean a decrease in formula funding. The need for Land Grant universities in each state and possible cutbacks in the number of ARS laboratories were issues also discussed at the meeting.
Bobby Pass (So. Region Grants Manager) reported on the grants program. For the 1997 program, 40 research and 19 joint res/ext. preproposals were submitted. This is the lowest number of preproposals received in the history of the program. Of these, 26 research and 13 joint projects were selected for development into full proposals. The number of extension pre proposals submitted and selected was not recorded. The peer review panel will meet on May 14 to select projects for funding. Available funds for the So. Region IPM grants program for FY 1997 is $962,108. Of this, approximately $666,000 is available for research projects, $225,00 for joint research/extension, and $70,000 for extension projects. Discussion on the following topics related to proposals followed: decreasing the number of approved preproposals to increase success rate of full proposals (no action); improving timing of RFPs to allow longer lead times (difficult because funds from Extension have been added along with extra budgetary requirements) ; decreasing paperwork requirements involved with multi-state proposals (would require joint state memos of agreement); improving the RFP distribution process (RFPs will be available on regional IPM website and the USDA website).
Ron Stinner (NQ on the National IPM Network (internet IPM site). 35 out of 50 states are involved and have agreed to the following standards when developing participating regional sites: 1) information is public access; no advertising allowed; 2) sites will include state name and documents will include dates prepared; 3) web documents will have the same review process as print documents. The Network is pushing hard for commodity orientation. Cotton Inc. Gave $10,000 for a cotton production information site with a search engine (called the "Cotton Pickin' Site"). A small amount of funds will be available for individual states to provide their own cotton information related to production, insects, diseases and weeds. Pest forecasting information based on geographic location will also be available.
Discussion on Southern Region needs and future direction for SERA. Implementation of a requirement for a report following completion of all So. Region IPM grants projects was discussed. Bobby Pass proposed making a recommendation to the So. Directors that a report be required and that this be included in future RFPs. Paul Backman made a motion that a recommendation to the So. Region Directors be made to require a report at the termination of all funded So. Region IPM projects. The motion was seconded by Mike Linker and unanimously approved. It was agreed that the report be one page or less in length, and that it be in language that can be understood by a lay audience. Mike Linker, Paul Backman and Geoff Zehnder were asked to provide a draft of the wording for the report requirement to be included in the RFP. Also discussed was the need to review the So. Region priority areas more frequently. Mike Fitzner recommended that the SERA committee should be involved in setting priorities.
Discussion on Priorities (second day). David Bridges suggested
that region funds be used to target a specific need over a longer time
period, rather than funding small component-type projects. Much discussion
followed on the difficulty in developing an equitable process for determining
such priority areas. Mike Fitzner suggested getting industry input into
the priority setting process. David Bridges also suggested that funded
IPM projects may be too basic, and do not really lead to an increase in
IPM adoption. Ron Stinner proposed organizing a sub-committee to look at
this, and that the priority areas listed in the RFP should be more specific
(e.g., justification for each priority area should be added in the RFP).
Tom Fuchs pointed out that livestock is a huge commodity,
and needs attention in IPM programs. David Teem indicated that livestock
has been included as a priority in the past, but that livestock proposals
have been of poor quality. David Bridges suggested a reason for this may
be that the IPM panels may have a tendency to emphasize flashy science
at the expense of IPM impacts.
Paul Backman made a motion that a committee be established
to review the RFP with the objectives of establishing a mechanism for setting
priorities and to assure that the projects that are funded will increase
the adoption of IPM. Discussion followed with some members stating that
the RFP was fine as It is written. The motion was not seconded. David Teem
proposed that we discuss and propose priority areas for FYI 998. Paul Backman
suggested cotton. Ron Stinner suggested adding a category on new technologies
in IPM, and the development of cropping systems in IPM. He expressed a
need to get away from commodity emphasis. David Bridges suggested that
IPM be more specifically defined in the RFP, and that weed scientists are
at a disadvantage because weed IPM is not as well developed as IPM in other
areas. He made a motion that a committee be formed to review the RFP and
to make recommendations for changing the wording of the RFP to encourage
the submission of weed science proposals with the ultimate goal of increasing
the 'integration of weed science in southern region IPM programs. The motion
was seconded by Carroll Southards and others and unanimously approved.
The RFP review committee will include Jon Edelson (chair), David Bridges,
Robin Huettel and Tony Kemiath.
A recommendation was made that SERA representatives
discuss priority areas with their state personnel before attending the
SERA meeting, and to be prepared to present their state list of priority
needs at the meeting. Ron Stinner asked for a listing of priority commodities
or areas, and a list was developed. Each state was allowed to select 5
areas (votes), and the number of votes for each area was tallied as follows:
Fruits and Vegetables (9)
Weeds (7)
Greenhouse and
Nursery (7)
Impact Assessment (6)
Urban (5)
Ornamentals and Turf (5)
General IPM Science (5)
Cotton (4)
Med-Vet/Livestock (4)
Peanuts (2)
Forestry (0)
This list will be forwarded to the So. Region Directors for consideration in their RFP priority setting process.
Bobby Pass mentioned that he was contacted by the Entomological Society of America regarding a new electronic IPM journal that they are considering. He will keep us posted on developments.
Election of New SERA Secretary. Paul Backman nominated Jon Edelson, Russ Mizell seconded and Jon was unanimously elected before he had a chance to refuse.
Next Meeting Site: Mike Fitzner suggested that future SERA meetings be held at host institutions in the region. Also that regional project leaders of completed IPM grant projects be invited to present a summary of their projects. Russ Mizell mentioned some highlights of U of F and things going on in Gainesville that might be of interest to the group. Tom Fuchs moved that next year's meeting be held 'in Gainesville. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved. It was agreed that one day of the meeting be devoted to showcasing Florida IPM activities and also presentations by Southern Region IPM grant program project leaders. The second day will be devoted to SERA business and perhaps could be cut to Y2 day. It was agreed that the meeting should be held in mid- late March. The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM on March 14.
Prepared by Geoff Zehnder
Tel: (334) 844-6388.
206 Extension Hall
Email: gzehnder@,acesag.auburn.edu
Auburn University, AL 36849