The Livestock and field crop IPM program is a collaborative effort between Cornell faculty and Cornell Cooperative Extension personnel that provides agricultural producers with objective, effective, research based information, techniques and resources to improve management of insect, disease, weed, and vertebrate pests affecting New York State's livestock and field crops, improve net profitability of crop and livestock production, while protecting the environment and human health. Efforts this year continued to improve the amount, diversity, and effectiveness of pest management strategies and technologies available to New York producers to better manage economically important pests of field crops and livestock. These efforts provided opportunities to help clientele integrate new information into management, address unique pest issues such as new, invasive or emerging pest problems, and provided a mechanism for enhanced dialogue regarding pest management needs and opportunities. Extension outreach collaborative efforts are on-going to train clientele through conventional extension modes, through experiential training approaches and through the use of electronic media such as the World Wide Web.

Dairy production is the major agricultural industry in New York contributing more than 1.2 billion annually to the state's economy. Over 80% of New York's crop acreage is devoted to field crop production. New York's dairy producers share similar crop production and pest management needs identifying them as a target for extension efforts. New York cash field crop producers also easily fit these criteria for outreach focus. Insect, disease, weed, and vertebrate pest problems all impact on agricultural profitability and decisions regarding their management can also affect environmental quality. Arthropod pests of livestock and poultry can affect animal health, production profitability, and off-farm neighborhood relations. LFC/IPM efforts take a whole-farm approach to managing pest problems of crops and animals. The program is closely aligned with other Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), state, and federal efforts to optimize production profitability in and environmentally sound manner.

Addressing IPM needs of clientele requires effective communication, collaboration, and outreach, a regular re-evaluation of pest management needs and opportunities, and assessment and integration of new technologies and other promising pest management developments into user management. To advance LFC/IPM efforts, I network with other crop specialists, am active in various Cornell extension program work teams, regional training efforts such as Northeast Certified Crop Advisor Program, nationally with the Livestock Insect Workers Conference, and with various animal and crop pest management research efforts. My livestock and field crop IPM team (Ken Wise and Julie Dennis) and I are very involved in outreach efforts such as our Tactical Agricultural (TAg) Team programs. This year new TAg efforts were launched to address organic field crops and small farm fresh market vegetable and field crop production. Our team provided weekly seasonal field crop and livestock pest activity and management updates to extension personnel via an extension listserv. To help develop IPM information, Don Rutz and I are researching biological control of dairy fly pests in confinement areas and on pasture. A second effort with Julie Hansen is evaluating effects of potato leafhopper resistant alfalfa and grass mixtures on pest losses. Additional on-going efforts involve preparations for a second livestock IPM regional workshop for extension personnel, a collaboration with NYS Agricultural Statistics Service and the Cornell Survey Research Institute to evaluate status of IPM adoption by New York field crop producers, and coordination, with Gary Bergstrom, of the NY portion of a national effort to monitor asian soybean aphid and soybean rust.
My livestock and field crop IPM team (Ken Wise and Julie Stavisky) and I are very involved in outreach efforts such as our Tactical Agricultural (TAg) Team programs. This year new TAg efforts were launched to address wheat production and an advanced TAg training program for field corn and alfalfa producers. Our team provided weekly seasonal field crop pest activity updates to extension personnel via an extension listserv.
I co-led a livestock IPM regional workshop targeting training for milk inspectors and extension personnel, and served as co-program chair for the 2004 48th National Livestock Insect Workers Conference in Lake Placid, NY.
I co-led (with Raj Smith, Pam Kline, and Russ Hahn) development of the Cornell Guide for Integrated Field Crop Management (www.fieldcrops.org) -- this effort also successfully streamlined developing, editing, and production of this Cornell Guide.

Grower adoption of IPM principles and practices is the goal of our IPM program. Our accomplishments reflect contributions and collaborations by many campus, county, and regionally based researchers, CCE educators, local state and federal partners, agribusiness, and agricultural producers
Measurable impacts of research efforts and extension programming can be difficult to document. Our statewide IPM adoption survey, released in February 2007, will help document indications of impacts. My research collaborations have evaluated new technologies important to crop and animal pest management. Studies this year have included IPM approaches to manage dairy cattle fly pests and potato leafhopper in mixed alfalfa stands. These projects are on-going with pertinent results from being shared through outreach efforts.
This years TAg program was offered in 10 counties to 58 growers who collectively manage 12,350 acres of field crops. The TAg program documented improvements of grower IPM knowledge by as much as 50% based on post participation test scores. The NY soybean rust/soybean aphid program established 19 sentinel sites in 17 counties. This effort did not detect presence of soybean rust or soybean cyst nematodes but did document low populations of soybean aphids. The survey network also confirmed three soybean disease first detections.
These activities and recent findings have enhanced LFC information and are being incorporated into extension outreach efforts and resources.

Integrated Pest Management

• Northeast Integrated Pest Management Center
• Northeast SARE
• Northeast Soybean Promotion Board

• Ken Wise (NYS IPM Program)
• Julie Stavisky (NYS IPM Program)
• Don Rutz (Cornell Entomology)
• Russ Hahn (CU - Crop and Soil Science)
• Gary Bergstrom (CU-Plant Pathology)
• Margaret Smith (CU - Plant Breeding)
• Julie Hansen (CU-PLant Breeding)
• Elson Shields (CU-Entomology)
• Paul Curtis (CU-Natural Resources)
• Phil Kaufman (U Florida Entomology)