National Agricultural Library hosts our Center meeting Last November, the Northeastern IPM Center met with its 30-member Advisory Council at the National Agricultural Library, which overlooks the expansive Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Maryland. The Center’s advisors represent a wide range of IPM stakeholders––growers, land-grant researchers, environmental advocates, state agencies, and many more––who link the Center to regional needs and priorities. The annual meeting each fall gives members a chance to review the Center’s programs, offer recommendations, and connect with each other. With BARC as our host in 2008, we also had a chance to tour the grounds of the world’s largest, most diverse agricultural research complex. The National Agricultural Library itself is a rich resource, with unique, historic collections and vast online offerings.

During our tour of BARC, entomologist Don Weber explained that brassicas, like this tasty daikon radish, are especially useful as cover crops because they release compounds that may inhibit insects, nematodes, and weeds.

Research ecologist Steven Mirsky (above on left) described soil and cover crop management practices that can enhance weed suppression in organic farming systems.