We're Funded! Three New Grants for the IPM Center

Our Center got some good news this month: We’ve been awarded new grants from three separate sources totaling approximately $1.3 million. We’re delighted at the opportunity to continue promoting and supporting IPM in this region and beyond, and we’re grateful to partners who have spoken out enthusiastically on our behalf. Here’s the scoop:

IPM Center Receives $712,000 from USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

With an infusion of funding through early 2013, the Northeastern IPM Center, based at Cornell University, will continue to promote IPM throughout the region. Much of this new funding will be channeled into the 2012 IPM Partnership Grants Program, which supports collaborative working groups and addresses critical pest problems with a special focus on ensuring food availability and food accessibility. Broad-based stakeholder participation is key to the Center’s success as we set priorities for research and outreach, foster collaboration across states and disciplines, and share information to increase knowledge and make the most of land-grant resources across 12 states. Over the next 18 months, we will strengthen our connection to small farms and boost collaboration among proponents of IPM, organic, and sustainable agriculture. Working with partners, we will continue to help northeastern farmers and residents manage pests efficiently in ways that protect human health and the environment.

Taking Aim at the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug with Partners on a Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) Grant

USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan has announced the award of a $5.7 million grant to develop economically and environmentally sustainable pest management practices for the brown marmorated stink bug. Our Center, supported by a $300,000 subaward, will oversee outreach on this invasive pest, working in partnership with project leaders at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. We will help scientists share new knowledge via web-based content, curricula, and displays for audiences nationwide. Read more about this year’s SCRI grants.

IPM Training in Multifamily Housing Will Expand Its Reach in 2012

Since 2007, the Center has coordinated IPM Training in Public Housing Authorities, a multiregional project that uses IPM to address housing conditions that threaten human health. With an infusion of $281,000, a new phase begins this month for the project, which is funded by USDA through an interagency agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. With these funds, we will lead IPM trainings for 20 public housing authorities. We will also publish a Guide to IPM in Public Housing, enhance the StopPests.org website, and offer webinars to help people manage bed bugs, cockroaches, and other urban pests.

Proponents of integrated pest management may be interested to know that IPM Voice, a nonprofit organization working to advance progressive IPM, has played an important role this year in educating policy makers and the public about the need for IPM and the benefits it can deliver. This young organization is poised to help state, regional, and national IPM efforts but desperately needs support now. Visit IPM Voice’s website to learn more about its work and opportunities for membership.