The Western Integrated Pest Management Center (“The Center”) engages a broad diversity of stakeholders in the West to identify strategic directions and set priorities for integrated pest management (IPM) research, education, and extension for pest management in all settings. Through these activities the Center promotes the USDA Research, Education, and Economics Action Plan goals of effective, affordable, and environmentally sound integrated pest management practices and improved response to emerging or reemerging pests of high consequence. The Center supports the National Roadmap for Integrated Pest Management (http://bit.ly/IPMRoadMap)
The Center works to reduce the risks that pests and pest-management practices pose to people, the environment and the economy of the American West by supporting the development and adoption of smart, safe and sustainable pest management. Our vision is a healthier West with fewer pests.
This RFA covers Planning Documents and Economic Analysis projects. This includes the development of Pest Management Strategic Plans, Integrated Pest Management Plans, Pest Management Prioritysetting for First Nation Food Sovereignty Initiatives, or similar planning documents, and Economic Analysis of IPM Systems.
Pest Management Strategic Plans (PMSPs) are developed with a group of producers and other stakeholders to identify the pest management needs and priorities of a particular commodity, industry, system, site or setting. The plans document current pest management practices and those under research and demonstration trial development. The plans also indicate priorities for research to fill knowledge gaps, regulatory changes, and education or training programs to support adoption of integrated pest management practices.
There are two current models for producing PMSPs, and either is acceptable.
• Guidelines for producing a traditional PMSP can be found on the National IPM Database web site at https://ipmdata.ipmcenters.org/pmsp_workshopguidelines.pdf
• Guidelines for producing an Integrated Pest Management Strategic Plan, an approach pioneered by researchers at Oregon State University, can be found at https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/em9238
Pest Management Priority-setting for First Nation Food Sovereignty Initiatives may query producers, pest management professionals, IPM practitioners or other pest management stakeholders to gather information about the current pest management methods and challenges in a particular commodity, system, site or setting.
The Economic Analysis of IPM Systems assessment focuses on the economic impacts associated with IPM practices in commodity, industry, system, sites or settings. As an example, the Crop Pest-Loss and Impact Assessment Signature Program tracks the economic impacts associated with IPM implementation. For more information on Signature Programs, see the Center Projects section of the westernipm.org website. Additional recent examples include the economic analysis of the IR-4 program (available at www.ir4project.org/outreach/), the economic value of screening grapevines for viruses (available at doi: 10.5344/ajev.2020.19047) the University of California IPM program (2016 ARE Update University of California Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics).