Problems with Pest Management Payment Scenarios & Components

1. Problems with Pest Management Payment Scenarios & Components David Lamm ENTSC Soil Conservationist

2. Pest Management DEFINITION A site-specific combination of pest prevention, pest avoidance, pest monitoring, and pest suppression strategies. PURPOSE • Prevent or mitigate off-site pesticide risks to water quality from leaching, solution runoff and adsorbed runoff losses. • Prevent or mitigate off-site pesticide risks to soil, water, air, plants, animals and humans from drift and volatilization losses. • Prevent or mitigate on-site pesticide risks to pollinators and other beneficial species through direct contact. • Prevent or mitigate cultural, mechanical and biological pest suppression risks to soil, water, air, plants, animals and humans.

3. Cost Category Typically Used to Support Practice Implementation • Materials No • Installation Yes • Labor Yes • Mobilization No • Acquisition of Tech Knowledge Yes • Foregone Income No

4. Old Component List • Herbicide • 2,4-D Herbicide • Arsenal Herbicide • CimMax Herbicide • Glyphosate Herbicide • Grazon Herbicide • Oust Herbicide • Remedy Herbicide • Aqua Star Insecticide • Surfactant

5. Old Component List • Chemical • Spot treatment Chemical • aerial application Chemical • ground application Chemical • precision applicationTillage, light Tillage • primary Mechanical weed control/vegetation termination

6. Vague Scenarios Description • Planning for the sustainable approach to address environmentally sensitive prevention, avoidance, monitoring, and suppression strategies to manage weeds, insects, diseases, animals, and/or other organisms that directly or indirectly cause damage to agricultural land uses. Before • Extensive damage to all agricultural land uses caused by pests that are above allowable thresholds. After • Utilize planning methods to address the prevention, avoidance, monitoring, and suppression of pests on all agricultural lands.

7. Wrong Component List • Old list had component not eligible for payment • Revised list supplied to regions on Wednesday during Regional Scenario Writing • Several Regions used incorrect list • Scenarios focused on “suppression” rather than Prevention, Avoidance & Monitoring

8. Review Pest Management Standard (595) & Agronomy Tech Note 5Joe Bagdon

9. IPM Payment Scenarios • IPM varies a lot by the level of the planned IPM system • Basic IPM: • Used to implement an IPM plan on a given cropping system to apply prevention, avoidance, monitoring, and suppression techniques that reduce or mitigate hazardous pesticide use. Pesticide applications occur only when monitoring indicates a pest threshold has been exceeded. Mitigation strategies are implemented for all planned pesticides that have drift concerns, pollinator concerns, or Windows Pesticide Screening Tool (WIN-PST) ratings greater than “Low” for drinking water or fish concerns. • Although some pest prevention and avoidance is used, the primary focus for NRCS purposes is pesticide risk mitigation.

10. IPM Payment Scenarios • Advanced IPM(Includes most organic growers) • Used to implement an IPM plan on a given cropping system to prevent and avoid pests as much as possible so the need for suppression is minimized. Suppression occurs only when monitoring indicates a pest threshold has been exceeded and low risk suppression techniques are utilized whenever possible. Mitigation strategies are implemented for all planned pesticides that have drift concerns, pollinator concerns, or Windows Pesticide Screening Tool (WIN-PST) ratings greater than “Low” for drinking water or fish concerns. • Most pesticide risks are prevented with a very strong focus on comprehensive pest prevention and avoidance.

11. IPM Payment Scenarios • IPM varies a lot by the planned cropping system: • Field Crops • Fruits • Vegetables • High Value Crops • Small Diversified? • Although IPM does vary some from region to region, the main variables are Basic vs. Advanced IPM and the type of cropping system, so we have an opportunity to be more consistent across regions.

12. New 595 Components • Use of real time weather data as a decision tool • Protection of beneficial insects/pollinator by adjusting pesticide application • Use of “no-spray” zones as set backs • Use of Low Cost Drift reducing spray techniques (management strategies) • Use of Low Cost Drift reducing spray techniques (equipment strategies) • Use of High Cost drift reducing spray techniques (air blast systems, ultra low volume, etc.)

13. New 595 Components • Establishing Economic Thresholds for known pest • Spot treatment based on field monitoring to determine treatment areas • Reduction of pesticide application using “smart sprayer” technology • Shift days of fumigant application to outside the non-attainment period • Development of University based IPM plan focused on PAM techniques

14. New 595 Components • Altering of pest habitat after harvest to prevent disease, insects, etc. population from developing • Use of cultural techniques to prevent and/or avoid development of pest pressures • Manage companion plantings and trap crops to prevent outbreak of pest • Record Keeping • Precision soil texture mapping to target nematode outbreak

15. 595 Scenario ExampleBasic Fruit Description Used to implement an IPM plan on fruit crops like apples. Used to reduce pesticide use through monitoring and suppression by basing sprays on threshold exceedence. Implement mitigation strategies for pesticides identified as having high risks using Windows Pesticide Screening Tool.

16. Before Typically installed on a 15 acre apple orchard that is using a conventional spray schedule and is not monitoring pests and adjusting sprays based on established thresholds. Resource concerns addressed included decreased water, soil, and air quality from pesticide contaminants, and decreased plant productivity (health and vigor) After Mitigation strategies will be implemented and practice will be installed on the entire 15 acre farm. The payment assumes labor for monitoring, use of real-time weather station data, cultural techniques, and recordkeeping and 1 visit by an IPM consultant at the beginning of the season to assist with plan implementation. Installation of this practice will result in a more accurate spray schedule which will tend to reduce the level of overall sprays. Contamination to water, soil, and air quality will be minimized.

17. Components Selected 10 hrs. 16 hrs. 8 hrs. 20 hrs. 15 ac. • Use of real time weather data as a decision tool • Establishing Economic Thresholds for known pest • Development of University based IPM plan focused on PAM techniques • Use of cultural techniques to prevent and/or avoid development of pest pressures • Record Keeping

18. Advanced IPM Field Crop Description • WIN-PST is used to assess risk of likely pest suppression activities and identify appropriate mitigation measures to the identified risks for conventionally grown row crops, small grain or forage. • An IPM plan meeting the FOTG 595 criteria is written by a Cooperative Extension employee, Certified Crop Advisor, or similar crop protection advisor. The plan includes specifications for appropriate prevention, avoidance, and monitoring (PAM) measures to be implemented on cropland according to Land Grant University guidelines. • A monitoring program is implemented using economic thresholds for known pests to take pest suppression actions when pest populations exceed the established economic thresholds. • Use of precision techniques and equipment is adopted to reduce required suppression activities and amount of pesticide materials applied. • Adoption of advanced technologies requires more time for consulting services and for installation than the basic scenario.

19. Before • A row crop field where an assessment of the likely risk of likely pest suppression activities has been performed; and measures to mitigate likely risks have been identified. • Some prevention, avoidance and monitoring strategies have been implemented already. • The on-going pest suppression activities still result in higher than minimum production costs and risk of degradation to natural resources has been identified using WIN-PST. • For instance, pest suppression techniques and equipment used still allows possibility for overlap, excess or non-target application of pesticide- resulting in higher production costs and degradation of natural resources.

20. After • An IPM plan meeting the FOTG 595 requirements has been developed by an Extension employee, CCA or similar corps protection specialist. • WIN-PST has been used to assess pest control risks. • The 595 IPM plan outlines the prevention, avoidance and monitoring techniques (from NRCS Agronomy Tech. Note No. 5) that are required for successful implementation of IPM. • The farmer is able to implement several recommended prevention, avoidance and monitoring activities indentified in the plan. • In addition, precision suppression technology is adopted to reduce required number of suppression activities and/or amount of material applied. • Monitoring is implemented by the farmer under the direction of the consultant. • Implementation of this practice scenario PAM activities reduce the total volume of pesticide applied and the risk of over application or non-target application, lowers cost of production and improves natural resource conditions.

21. Components Selected 4 hrs. 8 hrs. 250 ac. 16 hrs. 250 ac. 20 hrs. 250 ac. • Use of real time weather data as a decision tool • Use of “no-spray” zones as set backs • Use of High Cost drift reducing spray techniques (air blast systems, ultra low volume, etc.) • Establishing Economic Thresholds for known pest • Reduction of pesticide application using “smart sprayer” technology • Development of University based IPM plan focused on PAM techniques • Record Keeping