Soil and crop analysis lab - The UW offers a wide range of diagnostic services including soil, plant and forage analysis.

The Soil Health Scorecard is now available on the web.

Insect diagnostic lab - The UW offers an insect identification service, including i.d. of insect-damaged plant material. Service is targeted to county Extension offices and commercial growers.

Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic - The UW campus and UW Extension provides assistance in identifying plant diseases and offers educational information on plant diseases and their control

University of Wisconsin Extension (UWEX) works cooperatively with your county board of supervisors to employ county agents and educators to serve you locally. Agents offer workshops and training opportunities and may be able to assist you in other facets of pest management on your farm. UWEX also employs some of the researchers at UW campuses to work on IPM (see below for a list of researchers and contact information) .

Farm Service Center - a service of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, the Center provides free and confidential services to WI farmers including financial, mediation, stray voltage, legal, vocational and farm transfer services.

The Soil Health Scorecard is now available on the web. Use this tool to assess the health of soil in your fields and get ideas for how to improve soil health in the process.

Pest Management in field crops such as corn, soybeans, forages and small grains

Survey to assess your pest management strategies on field corn

Pest management in vegetables including vegetables grown for fresh market and for processing

Vegetable IPM Update is a weekly update on vegetable diseases and pests

Pest management in tree fruits including apples and pears

Pest management in berries including cane fruits, strawberries and cranberries

Wisconsin Crop Manager for corn, soybeans, forages and small grains

Pest management publications from UW Integrated Pest and Crop Management programs (IPCM)

Alphabetical listing of horticultural pests and publications that cover them

Wisconsin Bug.net offers a visual identification guide for Wisconsin insects

Biological Control News (formerly MBCN)

Publications on management intensive grazing are available for farmers raising livestock through the UW Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems or through UW Extension publications on agricultural livestock.

Horticulture - Karen Delahaut (all aspects of fresh market vegetables, school IPM), Teryl Roper(weed control in cranberries and apples), Bob Tomesh (fresh market production), AJ Bussan (fresh market vegetable production), Brent McCown (minor crops research)

Entomology -Dan Mahr (insect control in cranberries & apples), Jeff Wyman (insect control in processing vegetables), Eileen Cullen (insect control in field crops), Claudio Gratton (insect control in agroecology)

Plant Pathology - Walt Stevenson (disease control in processing vegetables), Patty McManus (disease control in canberries and apples)

Rural Sociology - Pete Nowak (IPM adoption in production systems), Jack Kloppenburg (food systems), Mike Bell (agroecology)

Soil Science - Kevin McSweeney (agroecology), Fred Madison (Discovery Farms), Bill Bland (climate change and soil quality)

Brian Smith at UW-River Falls (strawberry pest management and breeding)

Nutrient and Pest Management - Kit Schmidt (manager), Jeff Wyman (insect control), Larry Binning (weed control), Pete Nowak (sociology), Chris Boerboom (agronomy), Larry Bundy (soils), Kevin Shelley (south central WI), Karen Talarczyk (southwest WI), Paul Kivlin (northwest WI), Kevin Erb (northeast WI), Deana Sexson (potato project and IPM in processing vegetables), Richard Proost (IPM in field crops)

Integrated Pest Management - Bryan Jensen (state coordinator - field crops IPM)

Pesticide Applicator Training - Roger Flashinski

Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic - Dan Heider

Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems - Michelle Miller (pesticide risk reduction, and ThinkIPM), Don Schuster (integrated crops and cropping systems), John Hendrickson (School for Beginning Market Growers), Dick Cates (School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers), Steve Stevenson (food systems), Brent McCown (minor crops research).

WI Department of Natural Resources conducts a runoff management program to help keep pesticides and nutrients out of our streams, rivers, lakes, and groundwater.

The United States Department of Agriculture offers a number of grant programs and supports research and extension work on IPM.

USDA has a new program that helps farmers make the transition to organic farming.

USDA in conjuction with Land Grant universities, such as the University of Wisconsin, sponsors research and extension in pest management options. At the UW, much of this work is done through the Madison campus' Nutrient and Pest Management program or NPM.

USDA - North Central Region offers grants to farmers, Extension educators, and researchers through its Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program.

The Environmental Protection Agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C. conducts a program entitled Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program. PESP is a voluntary program that supports the work of farmers, agencies and others to reduce risk associated with pesticide use. Visit their website to learn more about organizations all over the country that are reducing pesticides in innovative ways. PESP also offers small grants to help participating organizations reduce pesticides. EPA also offers a web site with general information on IPM and another site with information on public-private partnerships to reduce pesticide risk.

The EPA - Region V works with states to reduce reliance on high-risk pesticides. Contact Barbara VanTil with your questions and concerns regarding high-risk pesticides, their registration, their use, and their alternatives. Barbara can also help you locate experts in other states in Region V or help you link to other regional EPA offices. This project is partially supported by EPA -V.

EPA publishes materials and reports on pesticides, available through their Office of Pesticides Programs.

EPA is in the process of re-evaluating all pesticides for their risk, as mandated through the Food Quality Protection Act. For more information on their progress in implementing this program, specific pesticides and their recommendations for risk reduction or other information, contact the Office of Pesticides Programs - FQPA site.

There are farmer networks for fruit growers - apples, cherries and berries - interested in reducing pesticide risk. These networks are part of the Wisconsin Eco-Fruit Project, an effort organized by the Wisconsin Apple Growers Association, the Wisconsin Berry Growers Association, and the UW Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems.

Leadership from the Wisconsin Berry Growers Association is forming at least one grower network for the 2007 growing season, issuing an industry-wide survey to determine the extent of IPM adoption with strawberry growers with assistance from UWEX berry specialists, and working with CIAS staff to develop a tool to measure pesticide risk in strawberry production. WBGA is also hosting berry IPM events in 2007. The first event is scheduled for March 30, 2007 in the Eau Claire area specific for IPM in blueberries. The second blueberry IPM event is in conjunction with Michigan State University. The third event will include information on strawberry IPM and horticulture considerations of unusual fruits, to be offered in mid-August.

There are more than 20 farmer networks in Wisconsin where farmers help each other learn about management-intensive grazing and other ways to reduce reliance on high-risk pesticides. Visit the University of Wisconsin's Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems web page that lists each network and tells us where the networks are and how to contact them.

Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association - In 2007, 19 farmers are working together to produce potatoes using cutting-edge IPM strategies. Want to join them? Want to learn more? Visit the WPVGA web site or visit the page that details their project.

Organic Crop Improvement Association -organic farmers rely on bio-intensive IPM to control all pests without pesticides. This organization works with farmers to certify farms as organic. They may be able to provide you with information on how to transition to organic production.

Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services (MOSES) offers a variety of educational experiences for farmers.

The Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference features three days of workshops and sessions for farmers to learn about all aspects of organic production and marketing. Pest management and other production sessions would be useful to all growers interested in reducing pesticides.

REAP Food Group creates of a Farm Fresh Atlas to market local, responsibly-grown products direct to consumers and sponsors the Food For Thought celebration in conjunction with a September Dane County Farmers Market on the Capitol Square to inform consumers about food system issues. Contact Miriam Grunes for more information.

Clean Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Parent Teacher Association work together to encourage IPM in schools, parks and other urban environments.

Contact your local farm supplier's agronomy department and let them know you are interested in using IPM services, should they offer them.

If you live around DePere and Brillion, contact Progressive Farmers supply co-op for IPM services or email them at depere@progressivefarmers.com

If you live in the Cedarburg / Cleveland area, contact Adell Cooperative Union at adell2@excel.net for assistance as you develop an IPM program.

Gempler's offers a full range of IPM products available through mail order or on-line through their Belleville, WI warehouse. Their newsletter, the IPM Almanac, is available on-line.

The American Society of Agronomy offers certification and workshops to anyone interested in providing IPM services. Certification is available by obtaining Continuing Eduction Units (CEUs) through qualifying workshops.

The WI Master Gardener program offers training in pest management.

The UW-Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems offers courses for Beginning Market Growers and Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers that address pest management options.

Many farm commodity organizations offer workshops on pest management at their winter and summer meetings. Contact them through the links provided in the Farmer Networks and Organizations section. You may also learn about training opportunites through links at the University and Government Services page on this site.

Protected Harvest independently certifies farmers' use of stringent environmental growing standards that support the Healthy Grown label.

The Food Alliance is developing certification for products produced sustainably.

Red Tomato brokers eco-farm products around the US.

The Organic Alliance encourages organic agriculture with an advertising, media and promotional initiative and includes a label for retail use.

Organic Crop Improvement Association - organic farmers rely on bio-intensive IPM to control all pests without pesticides. This farmer organization works with farmers to certify as organic. They may be able to provide you with information on how to transition to organic production.

Home Grown Wisconsin can help you market products grown with biological pest control.

If you direct market fresh fruits and vegetables you may be eligible to list your IPM products with The Farm Fresh Atlas. There are five atlas projects around the state: Southern, Western, Central, Southeast, and Eastern Wisconsin. For information on the atlas in Eastern Wisconsin, contact Fred Depies, fkdepies@charter.net or 920-898-1814.

Wisconsin Association of Professional Consultants networks consultants through New Horizons seminars and an annual meeting. They also publish a regular newsletter. Contact Judy Brannstrom, 608.833.7989, wapac@itis.com

Are you interested in becoming a crop consultant? Contact The American Society of Agronomy for more information on how to become a certified crop consultant in Wisconsin.

The UW offers courses in IPM that can help you pick up the skills you need to apply IPM to your own cropland or use to become a consultant to growers. Go to their home page for more information about up-coming classes.

The WI Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) certifies people to apply pesticides. If pesticide application is part of your business you may want to take the UW training for pesticide application and take this DATCP test to ensure you are not taking any undue risk in your use of pesticides.

The conference calls are open to all interested commercial growers. You pay any long distance phone charges. Want to join the calls? Email Lisa DiPietro to join the blog / listserve to receive info about connecting, listening to call recordings, and receiving call summaries. Lisa can also be reached by phone at 608-265-3637.

July 11 we are planning a workshop on biological insect control at the Peninsular Agricultural Research Station in Sturgeon Bay. Contact the research station for details at 920.743.5406

Support for fruit growers interested in IPM - EQIP and other USDA conservation programs

Orchardists in the eco-fruit program worked to improve conservation contracts with USDA NRCS. Wisconsin orchardists are now eligible for $120/acre to add IPM techniques (Standard 595 - Pest Management) through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) program sponsored by USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). At least 31 growers (apple and cherry) have EQIP contracts for IPM on 1750 acres, about 19% of orchard acreage in Wisconsin.

To participate in the Wisconsin program, contact your county NRCS office. Don't wait until the program deadline to initiate a conversation with NRCS - EQIP deadlines tend to come at busy times in the orchard. Remember that you may also sign up to implement other practices such as irrigation offered by the Agency. Your NRCS county staff can help you navigate EQIP and other conservation programs (such as CSP) that may support your efforts at environmental sustainability.

The Eco-Fruit program provides leadership to other states, especially in the North Central Region, that are interested in pursuing conservation programs as a means to increase IPM adoption. The NCR has a region-wide web site with specific information on EQIP and other programs that assist growers in implementing IPM. See our Journal of Soil and Water Conservation article.

Highlights from the Eco-Fruit program through 2007:
• We served at least 86 growers in core programming.
• Three quarters of growers for which we have multiple year data (15 growers) reduced their tox score by an average of 65%. All growers show an immediate improvement in their IPM scores.
• 55 apple growers are engaged in farmer networks.
• All of the four of the core apple networks are self-sustaining to some degree.
• Preliminary analysis from the berry baseline survey indicates an average self-reported IPM score of 56% (26% low / 84% high). We are poised to launch two berry grower networks to raise IPM adoption in this crop.

Join us!

If you are a member of one of our farmer networks, we will set the date soon for our All Networks meeting November 2008 in Madison. Whether you are in a network or not, you may also access our grower blog, Apple Talk, at http://www.thinkIPM.org/appletalk. (You will need a username and password from Lisa DiPietro.)The blog includes pest management information specifically for WI commercial apple growers and also provides summaries of our weekly conference calls held throughout the pest management season.

Look here for more information about the eco-fruit project: http://cias.wisc.edu/ecoapple.php.

• Farmer networks and organizations

  There may be farmers in your area who are developing creative solutions to pest management. Contact them for advice. Some groups have a web url. Check out this section for short-cuts to contacting them. Grower organizations have teamed up with consultants and the University of WI to reduce pesticides. Fruit and potato growers are invested in making a change.

• University & other government services

  There are many public service providers that can assist you with publications on pest management options, lab services, workshops and training on pest management, or who may be engaged in research relevant to your business. Some of these researchers may be interested in conducting research with you on your farm.

• Farm services

  Private service providers, such as crop consultants, can give you good advice and manage your crop pests for a fee. Your local farm supply dealership may offer consultant services to help you reduce risks from pesticides.