Excerpt
Wisconsin apple and cherry growers and the University of Wisconsin worked with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to address orchard pest management resource concerns through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). As a result, Wisconsin's EQIP Pest Management Standard was changed to provide orchardists with extended technical assistance and allow for progressive adoption of a spectrum of integrated pest management (IPM) techniques, from relatively basic to advanced. A significant flat-rate incentive payment encouraged growers to address multiple resource concerns through IPM. In just three years, the NRCS processed contracts that provided 31 growers with the resources necessary to implement IPM on 19% of Wisconsin's orchard acres.
BACKGROUND
In 2003, specialty crop organizations and environmental groups sought to expand EQIP beyond the traditional program (grain and livestock). These groups wished to address pesticide nonpoint source pollution and IPM adoption in specialty crops. Specialty crops—including tree and small fruits, vegetables, and ornamentals—face significant challenges ranging from pests and diseases to aggressive competition from foreign producers. Specialty crops are exceedingly diverse with complex, site-specific production traits and a tendency toward smaller acreages. Many are perennials that require significant capital expenditures for establishment yet yield no crop for several years …
Footnotes
Regina M. Hirsch is an outreach specialist and Michelle M. Miller is the associate director of the Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
- © 2008 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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