Abstract

A two-day, hands-on workshop provided an overview of integrated pest management for livestock to 15 cooperative extension agents and other animal agricultural industry outreach personnel from the Northeast.

Issue

Dairy production is an integral part of life in many rural communities in the northeastern U.S. In New York alone, 7,100 dairy farms contributed nearly $1.6 billion in dairy products to the state's 2002 economy. In addition, the value of dairy and beef commodities in the eastern U.S., where the impacts of this project are most applicable, total $15.4 billion.

Biting flies, nuisance flies, and external parasites have a significant adverse effect on animal health, farm productivity, and farm profitability. Damage from these pests is estimated to exceed $2.26 billion annually. At the same time, however, implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act has resulted in the removal of a number of insecticides previously available to animal agriculture. Furthermore, as suburban areas encroach on rural agricultural landscapes, emigration of pest flies to off-site locations often elicits public-health and nuisance complaints from neighboring communities. These issues highlight the need for producers to have the best information available to manage dairy and beef cattle pests and to utilize a broad, integrated management approach.

Response

A two-day workshop was held in Ithaca, New York to train cooperative extension representatives and state milk inspectors from the Northeast. Integrated pest management (IPM) coordinators and state department of agriculture directors from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia were invited to nominate cooperative extension and milk inspector professionals to attend the workshop. Fifteen individuals participated.

Impact

Since very few entomologists are actively engaged in animal research and extension activities, livestock IPM information can be difficult to obtain. Cornell entomologists work very actively to develop IPM strategies for managing pests associated with animal production, but few other land-grant institutions in the Northeast are engaged in such work.

As a result of this workshop, one milk inspector who participated has already provided workshop training on dairy fly IPM to his colleagues in the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Another participant has since provided dairy fly IPM training to the Northeast Certified Crop Advisors at their annual meeting in Waterloo, New York.

Funding Sources

• Other USDA (e.g., Water Quality, Special Grants, NRI)

Collaborators

• NYS IPM

Key Personnel

• Phillip Kaufman, Department of Entomology
• Keith Waldron, NYSIPM, New York State Agricultural Experimental Station, Geneva campus, Cornell University